Yen, Dollar Rise Against Most Majors
05:54, 30th July 2012
(RTTNews) - The Japanese yen and the U.S. dollar strengthened against their most major counterparts in the early European session on Monday amid dismal Spanish second quarter GDP data.
The dollar and yen are safe haven currencies and they tend to gain in times of financial turmoil and vice-versa.
Spanish gross domestic product fell 0.4 percent in the second quarter of 2012 after a 0.3 percent decline each in the first quarter of 2012 and in the fourth quarter of 2011. The outcome was in line with the Bank of Spain's estimates released early last week.
Annually, GDP shrank 1 percent following a 0.4 percent decline in the first quarter. This also matched the central bank's forecast.
Adding to negative sentiment, survey data from the European Commission showed that the Eurozone economic sentiment deteriorated in July due to lower confidence in all sectors.
The economic sentiment index came in at 87.9, down from 89.9 a month ago. The reading was also below expectations of 88.9.
The U.S. dollar advanced to 0.9802 against the franc and 1.5675 against the pound with 0.982 and 1.56 seen as the next upside target levels, respectively. The greenback closed last week's deals at 0.9765 against the franc and 1.5728 against the pound.
Against the euro, the dollar edged up to 1.2257 from Friday's American session close of 1.2303. On the upside, the greenback may target the 1.21 level.
The Japanese yen also rallied, rising to as high as 78.13 against the U.S. dollar and 79.77 against the franc. The next upside target level for the yen is seen at 77.8 against the greenback and 79.00 against the franc. At yesterday's close, the yen traded at 78.47 against the greenback and 80.40 against the franc.
Against the euro and the pound, the yen that closed Friday's deals at 96.53 and 122.53 advanced to 95.79 and 123.41, respectively. If the yen rises further, it may target 95.00 against the euro and 122.00 against the pound.
U.K. mortgage approvals declined more than expected in June, the Bank of England said.
The number of mortgages approved in June fell to 44,192 from 50,544 a month ago. Economists were forecasting approvals to fall to 47,800.
The yen climbed against resource-linked currencies such as Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars, hitting highs of 81.76, 63.15 and 77.76, respectively. On the upside, the yen may target 81.5 against the aussie, 63.00 against the kiwi and 77.00 against the loonie. At Friday's close, the yen was worth 82.26 against the aussie, 63.57 against the kiwi and 78.16 against the loonie.
There are no major economic reports due in the New York session.
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