Early trade in New York: Yen rises against dollar, euro

18 Sep, 2020

NEW YORK: The safe-haven yen rose to a seven-week high against the dollar and a 1-1/2-month peak versus the euro, amid another batch of generally weak US data and overall uncertainty about the economic outlook, backing the Federal Reserve's concern on Wednesday about the pace of recovery.

The dollar index rose to a one-week high, but was last little changed on the day, as risk appetite diminished. Shares on Wall Street were lower and US Treasuries were fairly well-supported.

In late morning trading, the dollar fell 0.3% against the yen to 104.62 yen, after sliding to a seven-week low of 104.52.

The euro dropped 0.3% to 123.60 yen. Earlier it touched a low of 123.33 yen, its weakest level since late July.

The dollar index, a measure of its value against six major rivals, was last little changed at 93.12 , but hit a one-week high earlier in the session.

The euro briefly hit a one-month low earlier at $1.1737 before trimming some losses to stand 0.1% lower on the day at $1.1809.

The Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars, tied to commodity prices as well as the ebbs and flows of risk appetite were all weaker on the day.

The pound fell 0.4% to $1.2916 after the Bank of England said it had been briefed on how a negative interest rate could be implemented effectively, should it be needed.

Read Comments