Euro hits new highs versus US dollar, yen

Story link: Euro hits new highs versus US dollar, yen

After the Bank of Japan voted by an 8 to 1 margin on Thursday to hold interest rates at 0.5 percent, the yen declined against most currencies.

Analysts said that the vote made it less likely that the Bank would raise rates in August, as many expect, even though remarks from the Bank’s governor said that economic growth data will not be the deciding factor in the next decision.

The US dollar and sterling were both fractionally higher versus the yen, to ¥122.42 and ¥248.38 respectively, while the euro gained 0.2 percent to ¥168.53 in relation to the Japanese currency after going to a new record high at ¥168.66.

The New Zealand and Australian dollar both gained 0.3 percent on the yen, to ¥95.80 and ¥105.72 respectively.

The euro also hit a new record high in relation to the US dollar when it reached $1.3799 and it was still up 0.2 percent on the greenback to $1.3770 at midday in New York.

Supported by positive data on May’s industrial production and a revised report on GDP growth in the first quarter, the euro added 0.4 percent to £0.6788 versus sterling.

Sterling, meanwhile, was hurt by new data on house price inflation, which turned out to be weaker than had been expected in June.

The UK currency dropped 0.2 percent to $2.0289 in relation to the greenback.