Yen, Swiss franc gain

Story link: Yen, Swiss franc gain

Currencies that fund risky investments such as carry trades saw gains on Monday while higher-yielding currencies declined after investors once again decided that there is too much uncertainty over the subprime mortgage and credit market crises to take big risks right now.

The yen and the Swiss franc both saw gains, while the biggest declines came from currencies such as the Australian and Canadian dollars and the South African rand.

At just before 2 p.m. in New York the yen traded at ¥160.9831 versus the euro, at ¥224.7439 against sterling, at ¥109.8000 to the US dollar and at ¥97.0193 in relation to the Australian dollar.

The Swiss franc was at SFr1.1155 against the US dollar, traded at SFr1.6354 versus the euro and at SFr2.2832 in relation to the pound.

The US dollar, meanwhile, traded at $1.4661 to the euro and at $2.0468 to the pound.

The dollar was affected by the news that the Gulf Cooperation Council, composed of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, will talk about dropping the dollar peg to their exchange rates when they meet early next month in Qatar.

While central bank governors from the region have agreed not to change their exchange-rate policies, the issue of revaluation will be discussed by the heads of state of the six nations at the December meeting.