Yen, Swiss franc see gains

Story link: Yen, Swiss franc see gains

The US dollar didn’t make any headway in relation to low yielding currencies such as the Japanese yen and Swiss franc on Wednesday, but had more success against major currencies. Even so, analysts called recent moves by China, including today’s increase in taxes on share transactions, dollar positive. The dollar added 0.1 percent to $1.34390 in relation to the euro, while it gained 0.2 percent on sterling, to $1.9765. Meanwhile, the greenback traded even at ¥121.60 versus the yen and at SFr1.2250 against the Swiss franc.

The yen added 0.1 percent to ¥163.40 in relation to the euro and gained 0.4 percent to ¥240.05 against sterling by midday trade in New York. The gains were attributed to a pull back from risky carry trades after China’s declines, but analysts pointed out that investors were not fleeing risk in nearly the numbers they did after China’s February declines. The Swiss franc was also aided by investors looking for a safe haven, adding 0.1 percent to SFr1.6460 versus the euro and gaining 0.2 percent to SFr2.4210 in relation to sterling.

Emerging market currencies were not as successful on the day. The South African rand, faced with a report on inflation that was higher than had been anticipated, dropped 0.8 percent versus the greenback to R7.1800, while the Turkish lira fell 0.4 percent to TL1.3310. In Europe, meanwhile, the Swedish krone dropped 0.3 percent in relation to the euro, to SKr9.3055, after figures on its gross domestic product in the first quarter were weaker than had been anticipated and growth in the last quarter of last year was revised downward.