Yen weaker as risk appetite grows

Story link: Yen weaker as risk appetite grows

The Japanese yen weakened Monday as investors’ risk appetite increased on a report from the European Commission that executive and consumer sentiment in the Eurozone was up to 73.3 in June, from 70.2 in May.

The yen was also hurt by a report from Japan’s Trade Ministry that retail sales there dropped 2.8 percent in May from the same month last year, although a separate report showed that Japan’s industrial production was up 5.9 percent in May from April.

At around 10:30 a.m. in New York, the yen traded at ¥134.2976 to the euro while it was at ¥95.405 to the US dollar, at ¥12.2352 to the South African rand and at ¥12.3674 to the Swedish krona.

Meanwhile, the greenback saw gains versus the Australian dollar after a Chinese official said there will be no sudden change in its policies regarding its foreign exchange reserves after an official at China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange said in an article that the dollar might remain the main reserve currency around the globe.

In mid-morning trade in New York the dollar traded at 80.63 cents US to the Australian dollar, while at the same time the greenback traded at $1.4077 to the euro.