By: Barbara Zigah

In Asian trading, continued market jitteriness and risk version is sending investors to the safe haven currencies at the expense of the Euro and Australian Dollar. As reported at 3:10 p.m., the Swiss Franc earlier struck a new record high against the U.S. Dollar, trading at 0.7610 Swiss Francs, and some analysts expect the Swiss Franc to continue to strengthen in this volatile time. Of note, the recent Dollar low comes even after Moody’s, the credit ratings agency, reaffirmed the United States highly prized credit rating.   The Euro also struck a record low against the Swiss Franc, trading at 1.0797 Swiss Francs during the early hours of the Asian session before recovering.

Also pressuring investors is renewed concerns over the spreading of the Eurozone’s peripheral debt; the yields on Italian bonds yesterday struck a 14-year peak, with the gap between it and German bunds continuing to widen.

The Japanese Yen, meanwhile, is holding steady against most currencies, with investors keenly aware that a Bank of Japan intervention could be forthcoming at any time. Certainly, in recent days Japanese officials have been very vocal about the currency’s rise.  Earlier this week, the U.S. Dollar had moved close to a 4-month record low against the Yen, trading at 76.29 Japanese Yen, prompting suspicions of intervention.