Crimea situation pushes yen

Published: 17 Mar at 8 AM Tags: Euro, Dollar,

The safe-haven yen is riding high after the citizens of Crimea voted in favour of annexation by Russia at the weekend. More than 90 per cent of the referendum votes were reportedly cast in favour of a break with Ukraine. Although the West has been quick to denounce the situation, tensions have pushed investors towards the low-risk Japanese currency. Washington has warned that it will not accept the result and President Barack Obama has warned that the US is prepared to introduce sanctions on Moscow.

The euro is currently trading slightly down at 140.97 yen, and the dollar is remaining steady at 101.31 yen.

The single currency has also slipped slightly against the greenback to $1.3908 after hitting its highest level in more than two years last week of $1.3967. The strength of the euro has been dented by comments by Mario Draghi, the European Central Bank’s President, who said he was concerned about the strength of the common currency.

There is some speculation that Russia is moving to reduce its dollar reserves ahead of possible sanctions imposed by the US.

Investors in Asia are also looking at the implications of an announcement by Beijing at the weekend that China is planning to double the yuan’s daily trading range.