The yen climbed to a seven-week peak against the dollar on Wednesday, as investors piled into the Japanese currency's safety, spooked by plunging Chinese stocks and the still unresolved Greek debt crisis. The low-yielding yen, used as a funding currency to buy other higher-yielding assets in so-called "carry trades," typically rallies in times of economic and financial stress as investors unwind these transactions.
In recent months, however, investors have also used the euro as a funding currency because of its low interest rates and on Wednesday, the euro-funded carry trades were also being unwound. The euro also had been boosted a touch late on Tuesday after member states gave Athens until the end of the week to come up with a proposal for sweeping reforms in return for loans.
"Greece and China have been at the forefront of investors' minds right now, although China is the bigger factor simply because of its size and its role as a global market player," said Ninh Chung, head of investment strategy and portfolio management at SVB Asset Management in San Francisco. The dollar fell to its lowest level since May 22 at 121.03 yen. It was last at 121.07 yen, down 1.2 percent. The euro also dropped against the yen, down 0.8 percent versus at 133.77 yen. Against the dollar, the euro was up 0.4 percent at $1.1053. The dollar was 0.5 percent lower against a basket of major currencies at 96.384.
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