AFP, New York :
The yen hit a one-year high versus the dollar Wednesday as investors sought the haven currency amid a rout in equity markets and worries about the faltering world economy.
The dollar fell to 115.98 yen, its lowest level in a year, before recovering somewhat around 2200 GMT to 116.92 yen, down 0.6 percent from the same time Tuesday.
“America’s dollar tumbled nearly a percent to one-year lows against the yen, a popular refuge when global risks rise,” said Joe Manimbo, senior market analyst at Western Union Business Solutions.
“Coupled with a weakening Chinese economy, the big fear is that sliding oil prices could do the same to inflation, raising the risk of economy-choking deflation taking hold around the world.”
The euro dropped 0.8 percent against the Japanese currency and was modestly lower against the dollar a day ahead of the European Central Bank’s first monetary policy meeting of the year. The ECB is widely expected to leave its easy-money policy unchanged.
The Bank of Canada kept its key lending rate at 0.5 percent Wednesday, giving a boost to the Canadian dollar, one of the currencies hardest-hit by the fall in oil and other commodity prices. The loonie traded around $1.4505, up about 0.5 percent from Tuesday.
As oil prices struck fresh 12-year lows, the Russian ruble sank to an all-time low against the dollar, exceeding the levels seen during the shock plunge of the Russian currency in December 2014.
The yen hit a one-year high versus the dollar Wednesday as investors sought the haven currency amid a rout in equity markets and worries about the faltering world economy.
The dollar fell to 115.98 yen, its lowest level in a year, before recovering somewhat around 2200 GMT to 116.92 yen, down 0.6 percent from the same time Tuesday.
“America’s dollar tumbled nearly a percent to one-year lows against the yen, a popular refuge when global risks rise,” said Joe Manimbo, senior market analyst at Western Union Business Solutions.
“Coupled with a weakening Chinese economy, the big fear is that sliding oil prices could do the same to inflation, raising the risk of economy-choking deflation taking hold around the world.”
The euro dropped 0.8 percent against the Japanese currency and was modestly lower against the dollar a day ahead of the European Central Bank’s first monetary policy meeting of the year. The ECB is widely expected to leave its easy-money policy unchanged.
The Bank of Canada kept its key lending rate at 0.5 percent Wednesday, giving a boost to the Canadian dollar, one of the currencies hardest-hit by the fall in oil and other commodity prices. The loonie traded around $1.4505, up about 0.5 percent from Tuesday.
As oil prices struck fresh 12-year lows, the Russian ruble sank to an all-time low against the dollar, exceeding the levels seen during the shock plunge of the Russian currency in December 2014.
