Euro hits four-year high vs Yen after Asmussen`s remarks . . . . . . . . . . . The Euro hit its highest in four years versus the yen, and gained over the U.S. dollar Wednesday after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank will maintain its super-easy monetary policy longer than thought. In a speech that echoed dovish comments by his nominated successor, Janet Yellen, Bernanke said that while the economy had made significant progress, it was still far from where officials wanted it to be. Bernanke said officials want evidence of durable job growth before scaling back the Fed`s bond-buying stimulus. He added that interest rates were likely to remain near zero for a considerable time after the asset purchases end. The Euro’s gain was buoyed by comments from a European Central Bank official over the effect of negative interest rates. ECB Executive Board member Joerg Asmussen said yesterday policy makers must be “very careful” about using negative interest rates to counter slow inflation. Note that the ECB cut the 17-nation region’s benchmark rate by a quarter-percentage point to 0.25 percent this month. -The euro rose 0.1 percent to $ 1.35421 . Earlier on Wednesday the single currency touched a high of $1.35773, its highest since November 1. As of 07:29 GMT -The dollar eased to 100.10 yen , backing away from a two-month high near 100.43 yen set last Friday. -The euro held steady against the yen at about 135.554 yen , having set a four-year high of 135.93 earlier, its highest level versus the Japanese currency since October 2009. The yen had also declined after Japan’s trade deficit was wider than economists had forecast. Data today showed growth in imports outstripped exports in October, leaving a trade deficit of 1.09 trillion yen ($10.9 billion) Traders said the euro`s rise gained a bit of added steam due to stop-loss buying, adding that its push higher versus the dollar helped lift it against the yen as well. Later on Wednesday, the yen may be affected from a report on planned reforms to Japan`s public pensions including the Government Pension Investment Fund. People familiar with the process say the final report will likely add details and a clearer direction to a preliminary September report that recommended the GPIF shift away from very low-yielding Japanese government bonds. #egyptyard
Posted on: Wed, 20 Nov 2013 09:53:04 +0000
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