Yen strengthens as pound, US dollar weaken

The Japanese yen saw gains Friday when investors reacted to more bad news from credit markets by cutting back on risky investments.

In early afternoon trade in New York the yen traded at ¥109.0100 to the US dollar, to ¥161.3837 to the euro, and at ¥213.5069 to the pound.

Meanwhile, the pound remained near record lows versus the euro on the news that factory output in the UK was 0.1 percent lower in November when it had been expected to rise slightly.

The pound traded at 75.59p to the euro while it took $1.9586 to buy a pound in New York.

The US dollar looked ready to weaken in relation to the euro for the third consecutive week on expectations that the US Federal Reserve will cut US interest rates again but that the European Central Bank stands ready to hike rates to fight inflation.

In early afternoon trade in New York, the dollar traded at $1.4804 to the euro.

Story link: Yen strengthens as pound, US dollar weaken