Yen helped by debt rating upgrade

Story link: Yen helped by debt rating upgrade

The US dollar strengthened on Monday, but analysts were not convinced that conditions had turned dollar-positive for the long term. The dollar added 0.2 percent against both the yen and the euro, to ¥118.90 and $1.3560 respectively, while it added $1.9995 in relation to sterling, a gain of 0.1 percent. The Australian dollar dropped 0.6 percent to $0.8325 against the US dollar, making it less likely that the Reserve Bank of Australia will raise interest rates at its next meeting, scheduled for next week.

Despite its decline versus the greenback, the yen strengthened a bit after Standard & Poor’s raised its long-term rating on Japan’s debt from AA-minus to AA. This, in addition to a new decision on interest rates by the Bank of Japan and the Bank’s semi-annual economic report, both due on Friday, are seen by most analysts as keeping the focus of currency traders on the Japanese currency. While the yen held steady against sterling at ¥237.60, it added 0.1 percent to ¥161.15 versus the euro.

The Indian rupee hit a nine-year high versus the US currency at Rs41.56 to the dollar ahead of a new decision on interest rates in India as the Reserve Bank of India began its latest meeting. The rupee has added over 6 percent against the greenback so far this year, with the gains driven by advances in the stock market there.