Yen in major gains on week

Story link: Yen in major gains on week

The Japanese yen finished the week much higher than where it began thanks to the mass exodus of investors from risky carry trades, with analysts not expecting them to return anytime soon.

The yen added 4 percent on the week versus the US dollar to ¥113.65 after reaching ¥111.62 to the dollar earlier in the day, a 14-month high and its biggest weekly gain in ten years.

Both the euro and sterling declined in relation to the yen, with the shared currency falling 5.3 percent to ¥153.50 and the pound dropping 5.8 percent during the week to ¥224.60.

The week was not kind to the relationship between the Australian and New Zealand dollars and the yen, either, with the Australian dollar falling 10.3 percent to ¥89.62 and the New Zealand dollar dropping 11.5 percent to ¥78.18.

Another safe-haven currency, the Swiss franc, had some gains during the week but it dropped 0.8 percent to the US dollar, to SFr1.2064, even as it added 1 percent to SFr1.6245 to the euro and gained 1.6 percent to SFr2.3876 versus sterling.

The greenback gained ground in relation to the euro and sterling as well as it was 1.4 percent higher to $1.3500 against the euro and up 1.9 percent to $1.9857 versus sterling.