Yen Slides To 1-week Low Against Most Majors
The Japanese yen edged lower against its major rivals in early Asian trading on Thursday as traders’ appetite for risk increased following a report from Australia showed that Australia’s unemployment rate declined lower-than analysts had expected.
The unemployment rate in Australia came in at a seasonally adjusted 5.3 percent in January, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said today. That roundly beat expectations for a rate of 5.6 percent following the 5.5 percent rate in December.
Employment increased 52,700 in January – blowing away expectations for an increase of 15,000 following the addition of 35,200 in December. The participation rate came in at 65.3 percent, topping expectations for 65.2 percent – the same as in December.
The Japanese yen slumped to a weekly low of 84.69 against the Swiss franc and 90.15 against the US dollar before leveling off around 7:30 pm ET Wednesday. The yen that closed Wednesday’s North American session at 84.29 against the franc and 89.95 against the greenback is currently quoted at 84.63 and 90.08, respectively.
The yen also reached a low of 140.99 against the pound and 124.15 against the euro at the same time and this may be compared to yesterday’s closing values of 140.32 and 123.58, respectively. The domestic unit is presently trading at 140.78 against the pound and 124.06 against the euro.
The Japanese currency plunged to a weekly low against the commodity-linked currencies too.
The yen reached as low as 62.97 against the NZ dollar, 79.9 against the Australian dollar and 85.18 against the Canadian dollar before moving in a holding pattern around 8:00 pm ET. At Wednesday’s North American close, the yen was worth 62.32 against the kiwi, 78.73 against the aussie and 64.73 against the Canadian dollar.
