The yen managed to gain versus most of the 16 main traded currencies today after a negative U.S. housing report brought risk aversion up among investors, which opted for the safety provided by the Japanese currency.
The Japanese currency gained the most in four weeks versus the greenback as a pending home sales report frustrated forecasts and indicated a monthly drop of 16 percent, declining risk appetite and favoring the Japanese currency, even if the actual figures are still positive in the annual comparison. The only currency that manage to contain the yen’s advance was its neighboring South Korean won, as the emerging market currency is rated among the best bets for 2010 according to analysts. Speculations that Japanese investors would be repatriating assets today also helped the nation’s currency to post a splendid performance today.
U.S. housing data affected both the greenback and risk sentiment in trading markets, which is good for the yen, according to traders. Bets that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates also declined, allowing the yen to become more attractive among the 6 main traded currencies in the short term.
USD/JPY dropped to 91.45 as of 17:00 GMT from a previous rate of 92.60 in the intraday chart. EUR/JPY touched 131.71 from 133.61.
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