Japanese Yen Benefits as Geopolitical Tensions Rise
The Japanese Yen saw broad gains in the wake of the rhetoric bandied about by the leaders of the US and North Korea. Tensions have been rising in the Korean Peninsula, and reached a new level with President Trump’s “threat” of “fire and fury” against North Korea if they should proceed with a missile strike against Guam, a US territory located in the Pacific. Safe haven currencies, specifically the Japanese Yen but also the Swiss Franc, have found widespread support as the uncertainty and tension rises.
As reported at 10:55 am (JST) in Tokyo, the USD/JPY was trading at 109.823 Yen, down 0.45%; the pair earlier hit a trough of 109.793 Yen, while the session peak stands at 110.386 Yen. The EUR/JPY was down 0.54% to trade at 128.924 Yen while the GBP/JPY was down 0.58% to trade at 142.489 Yen. The USD/CHF is down 0.20% and trading at 0.9718 Swiss Francs, off the session low of 0.97090 Swiss Francs.
Kiwi Dollar Subdued ahead of RBNZ Decision
In New Zealand, the Kiwi Dollar remains under some pressure and has been trading close to a 3-week trough against the greenback. Analysts expect that Thursday’s policy decision will maintain the status quo with the benchmark rate left at the current 1.75%. Despite the recent depreciation, the Kiwi Dollar is ahead by more than 5% since the beginning of the year, and moving off a multi-year high at $0.7557.