By: Barbara Zigah
A day after a second earthquake struck the beleaguered island nation, the Japanese Yen fell broadly, striking multi-month lows against the U.S. Dollar and the common currency Euro. As reported at 1:22 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the Yen slipped against the U.S. Dollar to 85.140 Yen, a 0.3% decline and close to the 6-month low struck earlier in the week. The Yen also fell against the Euro, trading at 122.47 Yen, a decline of 0.7%, off from the 11-month low of 122.630 Yen hit on the EBS trading platform. As desired by the Bank of Japan, the Yen appears on the verge of weakening further says one forex head in Singapore.
The Euro is being buoyed by yesterday’s announcement of an ECB rate hike of 25 basis points. Against the U.S. Dollar the Euro struck a 15-month peak, trading at one point to a high of $1.4405. Investors had been keen to hear the press conference held afterward by Jean-Claude Trichet, the ECB President, but the bank’s direction remains somewhat unclear with the Bank in wait-and-see mode. Some economists are expecting that the ECB will hold the rate in check through July, when rising inflation will likely prompt another hike.