Sunday, July 22, 2012

Euro falls below 95 yen for first time in over a decade

TOKYO: The euro hit fresh lows against the Japanese currency on Monday, falling below 95 yen for the first time in more than a decade.

The common currency, which has been under pressure over fears about the eurozone's fiscal problems, dipped as low as 94.91 yen in morning Asian trade -- its lowest level since November 2000 -- from 95.38 in New York trade on Friday.

The euro was also weak against the dollar, treading around two-year lows at US$1.2119, while the dollar bought 78.33 yen.

The Japanese currency, which hit record highs against the dollar last year, has been increasingly viewed as a safe-haven unit amid worries about Europe and a lumbering US economic recovery.

Officials in Tokyo have repeatedly warned that the yen was overvalued and have previously intervened in forex markets in a bid to bring down the soaring unit's value.

"My stance on foreign exchange is unchanged and will never change under any circumstance," Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi told reporters in Tokyo Monday, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

"As I've been saying, I will take decisive steps against speculative movement of excessive volatility. As far as the current situation is concerned, I'm watching it carefully," he added.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...