BLBG: Yen Climbs to Four-Week High Against Euro, Rises Versus Dollar
By Yasuhiko Seki and Ron Harui
Jan. 19 (Bloomberg) -- The yen advanced to a four-week high against the euro and gained versus the dollar as concern the global recovery is slowing spurred demand for safer assets.
The U.S. currency declined before U.S. reports this week forecast to show building permits increased at a slower pace and manufacturing in the Philadelphia region fell. The euro reached a four-month low against the pound amid speculation Greece’s deteriorating public finances will hamper a recovery in the region’s economy.
“Some worries over the strength of the worldwide rebound and the fall in stocks are causing risk aversion,” said Nobuaki Kubo, vice president of foreign exchange in Tokyo at BBH Investment Services Inc., a unit of New York-based Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. “Hence, the yen is being bought.”
The yen rose to 130.21 per euro as of 2:48 p.m. in Tokyo from 130.58 yesterday in New York. It earlier advanced to 129.99, the strongest level since Dec. 22. Japan’s currency climbed to 90.49 versus the dollar from 90.78 after earlier touching 90.35 yen, the strongest since Dec. 21.
The euro was at 87.73 pence from 88.03 yesterday after earlier touching 87.67, the lowest since Sept. 14.
The U.S. Commerce Department will say tomorrow building permits increased at a 580,000 pace in December, compared with a revised 589,000 in November, according to a Bloomberg survey. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s general economic index, due Jan. 21, declined to 19.4 this month from 20.4 in December, a separate Bloomberg survey showed.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 0.8 percent and the MSCI Asia Pacific Index of regional shares dropped 0.7 percent.
To contact the reporters on this story: Yasuhiko Seki in Tokyo at Yseki5@bloomberg.net; Ron Harui in Singapore at rharui@bloomberg.net.
