Monday, 17 Aug 2009

Yen Surges as Stock Markets Shudder

The sell off in equity markets around the world have continued throughout the day, emphasizing reduced risk taking while boosting the safe haven Japanese Yen. The Yen rose against all major currencies today, extending its bullish run against the Dollar. The Yen is approaching a 1-month high versus the Dollar and currently stands at 94.46.

Today's trading also favored the Dollar as the slide in stocks had traders moving money out of equities and into safer positions of the Dollar. With this came a sharp appreciation of the Dollar against the EUR and GBP. However, during the New York trading session the greenback returned some its appreciation seen earlier in the day. The EUR/USD is now trading at 1.4087.

Traders need to be aware of tomorrow's release of the German ZEW Economic Sentiment at 9:00am. If the survey releases a surprisingly positive result, it has the potential to reverse the negative momentum that has been seen in the EUR since Friday.