Safe haven assets, like the Japanese yen, Swiss franc, and gold, started the week sharply higher as markets opened and reacted to the news that North Korea conducted yet another nuclear test on Sunday.
North Korea claimed it performed a successful test of a powerful hydrogen bomb, and the 6.3 magnitude tremor (Richter scale) registered in the region supported that claim. It is interesting that the Japanese yen retained its safe haven status during North Korean nuclear tests even though Japan itself could be under threat from the rogue nation. Meanwhile, riskier currencies were struggling to regain ground, suggesting that traders do not think that the situation escalates much further in the near future.
USD/JPY was at about 109.69 as of 12:34 GMT today after closing at 110.24 on Friday and opening at 109.50 on Monday. EUR/JPY was at 130.52 after it opened at 130.13 following the Friday’s close at 130.75.
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