Yen gains on bad corporate news

The Japanese yen strengthened Wednesday on a flight from risk after the first of the quarterly reports from corporations were disappointing and on new data from Europe which showed that Germany exported fewer goods and the UK economy contracted by 1.5 percent in the first quarter.

Expectations that Japan will report another drop in machinery orders tomorrow, however, could limit the yen’s gains.

At just past 11 a.m. in New York the yen traded at ¥132.4705 to the euro and at ¥100.055 to the US dollar, while it took $1.324 to buy a euro.

Avoidance of risk by investors hurt the Australian and New Zealand dollars.

The Aussie was also hurt on the news that home loan approvals were up by only 0.4 percent in Australia in February, against an expected 2 percent rise in approvals, while the Reserve Bank of Australia cut interest rates to 3 percent Tuesday, the lowest in nearly a half-century.

At late morning in New York, it took 70.96 cents US to buy an Australian dollar while the New Zealand dollar was worth 57.76 cents US and the yen traded at ¥71.0013 to the Aussie and at ¥57.7572 to the New Zealand currency.

Story link: Yen gains on bad corporate news