The Japanese Yen rose broadly today, even versus an otherwise upbeat U.S. Dollar, recovering from previous day’s losses as investors re-direct their attention to the global economic weakness.
Investors demand for risky assets was low following figures released earlier today which showed that the Japanese economy shrank by 0.5% between July and September, far more than the estimated figure of 0.1%. Sony Corporation, the Japanese technology giant, also announced major layoffs in the coming months. The Japanese Yen surged nonetheless, as investors moved away from higher risk currencies in favour of the Japanese Yen.
The European shares FTEU3 fell by 0.8% in early trading as the risk-averse concern rippled through stock markets. According to Stephen Koukoulas of London-based TD Securities, although it may be a harsh reality, global weakness persists throughout the markets.
On December 9, 2008 at 09:00 GMT, the Euro fell by 0.6% against the U.S. Dollar to $1.2860, retreating from $1.2968 level on Monday. The U.S. Dollar gained 0.5% against a group of currencies .DXY and traded at 86.120, however, it fell by 0.6% against the Japanese Yen and traded at 92.34 Yen.