Yen weaker on drop in PM’s approval

The Japanese saw more declines Tuesday as economic news for the nation continues to be disappointing and as the approval rating of Prime Minister Taro Aso, who is in Washington, DC, to meet with US President Barack Obama, has dropped to near a record low.

The Prime Minister‘s approval rating has fallen to 11.4 percent and his disapproval rating stands at 80.2 percent as his nation’s economy is at its worst in years and his own party has asked him to resign.

The news survey also showed that Japan’s opposition party has more support among the Japanese people than does the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

The yen is losing its status as a safe investment ahead of separate reports that are expected to show that Japan’s trade deficit will be the biggest in almost a quarter of a century and that consumer prices were down in January for the first time in a year.

In late morning trade in New York, the yen traded at ¥96.745 to the US dollar while it was at ¥123.352 to the euro.

The greenback, meanwhile, weakened in relation to the euro, trading at $1.275 to the shared currency at just after 11 a.m. in New York on concerns that the recession is getting worse in the US.

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