By: Barbara Zigah
The safe haven Japanese Yen remained near a multi-week peak versus a broad mix of currencies on heightened risk aversion. The Yen struck a 5-week peak against the U.S. Dollar, earlier touching briefly on 81.8475 before settling back most recently at 80.1950 Yen. The Yen also hit a 7-week high against the common currency Euro, trading at 105.44 Yen. Analysts expect that the Yen won’t continue to rise too much beyond 80.00 Yen, with another Bank of Japan meeting scheduled later in the month. The move to risk-off was precipitated by a spike in Spanish bond yields yesterday, sending 10-year bonds close to 6% and exacerbating concerns about the periphery’s fragility. Yesterday’s unexpectedly disappointing trade data from China also gave rise to worries that China will not be able to accomplish a soft landing as desired.
Also providing fuel to the risk-off mood, the International Monetary Fund recently warned commodity-exporting countries like Australia and New Zealand that they should get ready for lower prices in the wake of diminished global demand and weaker economic activity. As reported at 12:50 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the Australian Dollar slipped against the U.S. Dollar to $1.0226 before recovering most recently, at $1.0289.