Yen in big gains

Story link: Yen in big gains

The Japanese yen was higher on Thursday as equities markets continued to decline and investors looked for safer places to put their money than carry trades.

In midday trade in New York, the yen was up 1.9 percent to ¥114.20, the highest it has been versus the greenback in over a year, while it gained 2.1 percent on the euro to ¥153.15 and added 2.2 percent in relation to sterling, to ¥226.40.

The yen added 5.9 percent versus the New Zealand dollar to ¥77.57, while the Australian dollar lost almost as much to the Japanese currency as it dropped 5.8 percent to ¥89.71.

While the US dollar was lower against the yen, it added 0.2 percent to $1.3400 in relation to the euro and gained 0.3 percent to $1.9815 versus sterling.