Despite efforts by the Japanese government and its central bank, the safe haven Japanese Yen surged versus both the Euro and the U.S. Dollar in the wake of a yet another fall in oil prices which has jittered markets’ nerves over perceived possible economic risks in the coming year. In the Eurozone, the concern is that the Greek government might consider rejecting the Euro now that the latest efforts to elect a president there have failed. Beyond Greece, concerns over the ECB’s ultra loose and long term liquidity measures and the Eurozone’s near stagnant growth have further pressured the common currency.
As reported at 8:03 am (GMT) in London, the USD/JPY was trading lower at 119.59 Yen, and the dollar’s fall against the Yen helped to push the U.S. Dollar Index off its recently struck 8½ year peak; the U.S. Dollar Index was trading at 90.0930 .DXY, down 0.11%. The EUR/USD was also off a 29-month trough and trading at a session high of $1.2185 before retreating to the current $1.2149, a loss of 0.7%.
Risk Crowd Eyes Oil and Equities
FX strategists confirm that it typical risk aversion which is weighing on the cross-Yen pairs like the USD/JPY and the EUR/JPY, however they also say that if oil prices bounced and if equities are able to recover after their recent slide and worries over the Greek election issue wane, then the trend is likely to reverse.