USD/JPY Below 117.50 as Stocks Fall

The yen rose for a fourth day against the dollar as Japanese stocks fell following a decline in oil to the lowest since 2009.  The Japanese currency was stronger than all but one of the 16 major counterparts as the Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined for a second day. The euro traded 0.2 percent from a nine-year low amid speculation the European Central Bank will begin buying government bonds as early as next week to stave off deflation. Richard Clarida of Pacific Investment Management Co. said he sees the euro falling to parity.

“If stocks continue to slump on the idea that low oil prices will become a risk to the U.S. or the global economy, dollar-yen will continue to fall,” said Masato Yanagiya, head of foreign exchange and money trading at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. in New York. “It’ll be easy for the yen to strengthen amid a flight to quality.”

The yen rose 0.2 percent to 117.67 per dollar at 10:15 a.m. in Tokyo from yesterday. It strengthened for a fifth day against the euro, climbing 0.3 percent to 138.49 yen. The euro was little changed at $1.1770 after it touched $1.1753 yesterday, the least since December 2005.

Bloomberg

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