Yen Falls Versus Dollar as Japan’s Current-Account Gap Balloons

Enivid

Administrator
Staff member
Nov 30, 2008
18,530
1,355
144
Odesa
www.earnforex.com
The yen declined against the dollar and the euro after the nation posted its first current-account deficit in 13 years.

The Japanese currency also weakened versus the Swiss franc after the Finance Ministry in Tokyo reported a deficit that was more than 11 times larger than economists forecast. The euro traded near a one-week high against the dollar amid speculation the European Central Bank will slow the pace of interest-rate cuts. The Swiss franc fell against the U.S. currency after a government report showed the jobless rate rose in February as financial losses prompted banks to reduce costs.

“The poor Japanese trade-deficit data are giving further fuel to the idea that Japan, or the yen, is no longer the safe haven as the country’s external position deteriorates,” said Adam Cole, the London-based head of global currency strategy at the Royal Bank of Canada.

The yen weakened to 98.52 per dollar as of 8:55 a.m. in London, from 98.25 last week in New York. The currency depreciated to 124.50 per euro from 124.34 yen. The euro traded at $1.2638 from $1.2653.

From Bloomberg News.