NEW YORK: The safe-haven Japanese yen climbed to a two-week peak against the dollar on Friday, lifted by concerns about a surge in coronavirus infections in the United States and around the world.
The yen was on track to post its largest daily percentage gain against the dollar in about a month. The greenback fell against a basket of major currencies, pressured by weaker-than-expected US producer prices in June as well as positive news about the potential coronavirus vaccine remdesivir that hurt the dollar's status as a safe haven.
"Growth worries stalked markets, buoying safe bets like the yen and gold," said Joe Manimbo, senior market analyst, at Western Union Business Solutions in Washington.
Also weighing on the dollar was news that Gilead Sciences Inc said additional data from a late-stage study showed its antiviral remdesivir reduced the risk of death and significantly improved the conditions of severely ill Covid-19 patients.
In late morning trading, the dollar fell 0.5% against the yen to 106.66 yen. The dollar index also fell 0.3% to 96.451. The euro rose 0.3% against the dollar to $1.1318, while the British pound was up 0.4% at $1.2655. The Chinese yuan in the offshore market was down about 0.1% at 7.0039 per US dollar, having touched a near-four-month high of 6.9808 on Thursday.
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