Yen up against euro and dollar

Published: 28 Aug at 9 AM Tags: Euro, Dollar,

The yen, considered a safe-haven currency in a crisis, has hit its highest levels in a week against both the US dollar and the euro. The markets are currently jittery as the world watches to see how the West will react to Syria. The US and her allies look like they may well be gearing up for a military strike.

The intervention would be in retaliation to President Bashar al-Assad’s chemical weapons attack on citizens last week. The dollar fell from Monday’s high of 98.54 yen to 97.10 yen. The euro was down from Monday’s peak of 131.72 yen to 130 yen.

The Australian dollar also took a 2 per cent tumble and is now in an 87.18 yen trough.

However, the euro has managed to crawl up against the greenback to $1.3394. Some analysts are not convinced that the concerns over Syria will have much more than a short-term effect on the markets.

Currency strategists at BNP Paribas issued a note saying that the impact by Syria on FX will be temporary as long as the situation does not become too drastic.
The dollar is likely to find some support from data produced this week that indicates June’s house prices were up and that consumer confidence rose through August.