Yen, USD gain on euro

The US dollar and the yen saw gains Friday as investors backed away from risky investments on fears that losses in the financial sector will further harm the economy, and as equities markets declined.

The euro was hurt by substantial contraction in Europe’s manufacturing and services sectors in February and by remarks from an ECB official who said that more could be done to help the Eurozone’s economy.

At just past 11 a.m. in New York the greenback traded at $1.2612 to the euro while the yen traded at ¥118.7476 to the shared currency and at ¥94.155 to the dollar.

The pound was hurt by new data showing that home repossessions in the UK hit a 12-year high last year and after a Bank of England official said that the nation’s recession could last ten years if steps to fight it are not taken, but data from the Office of National Statistics showing a slight gain in retail sales in the UK in January limited losses for the UK currency.

New data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders said that banks took back 40,000 properties in 2008, 54 percent more than in 2007, while it forecast that 75,000 properties will be repossessed this year.

The pound traded at 88.2p to the euro at late morning in New York, while it took $1.43 or ¥134.6418 to buy a pound.

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