Beijing, China (BBN)-The yen gained against all of its major counterparts as stocks in China headed for their biggest drop since 2009, spurring demand for haven assets.
Japan’s currency approached a three-month high against the euro as Chinese brokerages tumbled after regulators took measures to rein in margin trading at three of the nation’s biggest securities firms, reports Bloomberg.
The euro is down this month against all 16 major peers after the Swiss National Bank last week decided to abandon the franc’s cap versus the shared currency, adding to sspeculation the European Central Bank will announce additional stimulus measures at a meeting this week.
“The slide in Shanghai stocks is leading to yen buying,” said Yuji Saito, director of foreign exchange at Credit Agricole SA in Tokyo. “With risk sentiment deteriorating right now, anything obscure will lead to reducing positions.”
The yen rose 0.4 percent to 117.06 per dollar at 12:49pm in Tokyo from January 16, and gained 0.5 percent to 135.31 per euro. The euro was little changed at $1.1559 after falling to $1.1460 on January 16, the weakest since November 2003.
The 19-nation currency traded at 1.0005 Swiss francs after plunging 17 percent last week to 99.41 centimes. The franc dropped 1 percent to 86.73 centimes per dollar, after surging 21 percent on January 15.
The yen was the biggest gainer today among 10 developed-nation currencies tracked by Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes.
It rose 0.6 percent, the dollar gained 0.1 percent, the franc slid 1 percent. U.S. financial markets will be closed today for Martin Luther King Day.
BBN/AKG/-19Jan15-12:50pm (BST)