By: Barbara Zigah
Following yesterday’s speech to the IMF Conference in Atlanta whereat Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank told the crowd that no further stimulus would be forthcoming after the cessation of the current bond purchase program, the U.S. Dollar slipped against the Japanese Yen. In Tokyo trading, as reported at 1:49 p.m. (JST), the greenback slipped against the Japanese Yen, falling 0.2% to 79.95 Yen. A general decline in Asian equity prices also helped to bolsters’ trader risk aversion.
Risk aversion sent the Japanese Yen broadly higher, besides the U.S. Dollar the currency rose 0.5% against the common currency Euro, trading at 117.20 Yen from a session low of 117.85 Japanese Yen. The Australian Dollar also slipped against the Yen, trading at 85.18 Yen, a decline of 0.5%.
Markets were clearly disappointed with the Federal Reserve’s position; the Chairman confirmed that the U.S. economy’s growth is slowing but failed to address what the Fed might do to halt the slowdown.
After an initial decline, the U.S. Dollar regained some ground, however. Against the Euro, the greenback gained 0.2% to $1.4658, coming off a 1-month low of $1.4596 the previous day. Investors will remain wary of the greenback’s long-term outlook given the likelihood of enduring low interest rates in the U.S.
Japanese Yen Gains Broadly on Risk Aversion Following Bernanke Speech
After working on Wall Street, Barb began her second career as a freelance writer at Daily Forex, where the CEO recognized fresh, untapped potential and was willing to give her a try. She’s never looked back. Since then, she’s worked steadily as a freelance writer and editor in the financial services and Forex-related industry.