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Yen Gains as Safe Haven Demand Resurfaces

japanese yen

The safe haven Japanese yen gained ground against the U.S. dollar during the Asian trade session on Thursday.

The yen recovered from a three week low after the Hubei Province, in China reported a spike in coronavirus cases.

This sharp increase in cases spooked the Forex markets and saw safe haven asset classes like the yen and Swiss franc firm.

The headline USD/JPY currency exchange rate fell 0.15 percent to trade at 109.94 yen. The Japanese currency was at its weakest price point since January 21 earlier this week.

The onshore Chinese yuan surrendered 0.1 percent to 6.9792 and the offshore currency exchange rate, for the yuan, was down 0.12 percent to trade at 6.9813.

The Australian dollar, which has a lot of exposure in China, fell 0.2 percent against the U.S. currency and the NZD/USD Forex market fell a quarter of a percent to trade at 0.6451.

Forex Traders Flee into the Safety of the Yen

On 12 February, the Chinese province of Hubei reported 14,840 new cases of the deadly coronavirus. The death toll in the province spiked from 242 to 1,310.

Health officials in the province said they included cases diagnosed with a new method. This spooked Forex traders. The coronavirus broke out, last month, in Hubei in the city of Wuhan. The virus has since spread to 24 other countries and is shaking up market sentiment.

Key U.S. Inflation on the Economic Calendar Today

Looking at the economic calendars today, the headline event is the January U.S. consumer price index (CPI). The U.S., at 1:30 pm GMT, will release the both core and headline CPI indices. The United States is also releasing monthly unemployment claims.

On the Eurozone economic calendar, the European Union (EU) will publish their updated economic forecasts.  Germany will release monthly consumer price index data today, as well. The United Kingdom is set to release minor housing data, their RICS housing price (balance) index.

About David Frank

David has his MA and PhD in Economics. He is a technical analyst who has been trading in the Forex world for over a decade. As an analyst and trader, David believes in the big picture by blending together technical analysis with the fundamentals behind the scenes in the Forex and Bond markets. David’s trading strategy is unique. He blends an understanding of fundamental and macroeconomics with technical analysis to offer a unique view into Forex. He applies several strategies including carry long positions, to take advantage of high yields in non-volatile markets, as well as using quicker, chart related analysis for day trading.

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