por admin » Vie Ago 19, 2011 3:39 pm
El yen en su nivel mas alto frente al dolar desde la Segunda Guerra Mundial. El yen esta siendo utilizado como divisa refugio.
El franco subio frente ala mayoria de divisas despues que el SNB dijo que tomara madidas para evitar que se sisiga fortaleciendo. El euro devolvio las ganancis frente al dolar ante la especulacion que el Fed consideraria tomar medidas para aliviar la turbulencia financiera. Bernake hablara la proxima semana en una conferencia economica en Wyoming.
Yen Rises to Record Versus Dollar
By Allison Bennett - Aug 19, 2011 12:41 PM ET .
Yen Rises to Record Versus Dollar
Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg
The yen gained to a postwar record against the dollar.
The yen rallied to the strongest level since World War II versus the dollar as the U.S. economic slowdown and Europe’s debt crisis stoked concern global growth is slumping bolstered the refuge appeal of Japan’s currency.
The franc rallied against a majority of its most-traded counterparts even after the Swiss National Bank said this week it may take further steps to curb the currency’s strength. The euro erased losses versus the dollar and yen on speculation the Federal Reserve will consider measures to help ease financial- market turmoil. Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke speaks at an economic conference next week in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
“We’re not seeing a jump in risk-seeking in the currency world; the safe havens are still favored,” said Brian Kim, a currency strategist at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc’s RBS Securities unit in Stamford, Connecticut. “The market is pretty wary after the last couple of days. We’ve seen people paring down expectations for the global outlook and people want to play it cautious until Bernanke speaks next Friday.”
The yen touched 75.95 per dollar, the strongest postwar level, before trading at 76.38 at 12:40 p.m. in New York, compared with 76.58 yesterday. It had slid to 80.24 on Aug 4, the weakest since July 12. The euro rose 0.5 percent to $1.4411, after touching a three-week high of $1.4518 on Aug. 17, and gained 0.3 percent to 110.05 yen.
Franc Strengthens
The franc advanced 0.4 percent to 1.1338 per euro, from 1.1380 yesterday. The Swiss currency appreciated 0.9 percent to 78.67 centimes per dollar, from 79.41 centimes.
Gold rose to a record above $1,880 an ounce in New York, while European and Asian stocks tumbled and U.S. equities fluctuated. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was little changed after rising 1.2 percent and falling 0.9 percent, while the MSCI World Index dropped 0.6 percent.
Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda signaled he’s ready to do another “surprise” intervention in markets to curb yen gains. Noda said yesterday he “will keep monitoring markets carefully” and that intervention “is a measure of last resort -- it would be meaningless if it were not a surprise.”
The yen has risen beyond the level that prompted Japan to unilaterally sell the currency on Aug. 4, its first intervention in currency markets since March.
“When you come down to these levels, you’re going to start getting talks out of the monetary authorities in Japan,” said Fabian Eliasson, head of U.S. currency sales at Mizuho Financial Group Inc. in New York. “Based on the cost of the previous intervention and the failed success, I’m not sure that they’re going to do something. It’s almost impossible.”
Current Account Surpluses
The yen and franc tend to strengthen during economic and financial turmoil because Japan’s and Switzerland’s current account surpluses makes them less reliant on foreign capital.
The Japanese currency has gained 5.5 percent over the past three months, making it the second-best performer among 10 major-economy currencies tracked by Bloomberg Correlation- Weighted Currency Indexes. The franc, the biggest gainer, has risen 11 percent, while the dollar is down 2 percent.
“The global slowdown led by that in the U.S. and the European sovereign-debt crisis have been weighing on global stock markets and contributing to yen strength,” said Andrew Wilkinson, senior market analyst at Interactive Brokers Group in Greenwich, Connecticut. “It’s not an independently strong yen. There are so many factors.”
Speculation has increased this week that U.S. regulators are stepping up scrutiny of local operations for Europe’s largest banks on concern that the sovereign debt crisis may lead to funding problems. New York Fed President William C. Dudley said yesterday that the central bank always keeps an eye on the performance of U.S. and foreign banks, not monitoring one group more than the other.
Jackson Hole
Bernanke may announce policy intentions at the Kansas City Fed’s economic conference in Jackson Hole on Aug. 26, according to Marc Faber, publisher of the Gloom, Boom & Doom report, on Bloomberg Radio’s “Bloomberg Surveillance” with Ken Prewitt and Tom Keene. It will extend its debt-purchasing, he said.
Last year at the event Bernanke foreshadowed a second round of bond purchases. The central bank bought $600 billion in Treasuries from November through June.
The euro gained versus the dollar after Spanish Finance Minister Elena Salgado said measures approved today to reduce pharmaceutical spending will save the nation 2.4 billion euros ($3.5 billion) in a full year. Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero will bring back a wealth tax he suspended in 2008 as he tries to meet his budget deficit-reduction target, Expansion newspaper said, citing people familiar with the government’s plans.
The shared currency has advanced 1.2 percent in the past month, according to Bloomberg’s correlation-weighted indexes.
South Korea’s won was the biggest loser against the dollar today after Financial Supervisory Service Governor Kwon Hyouk Se asked insurers to refrain from paying dividends and boost capital in preparation for a potential crisis.
The won fell 1.3 percent versus the dollar to 1,087.55, from 1,074 yesterday.