Yen, Swiss franc rise on Ukraine tension

04/03/2014 08:26 AST

[LONDON] The yen and the Swiss franc yesterday strengthened after Russia took control of Crimea, intensifying concern of a conflict with Ukraine's new government and boosting demand for haven assets.

Japan's currency climbed at least 0.5 per cent against all of its 16 major peers as US Secretary of State John Kerry is travelling to Kiev after discussing sanctions against Russia. European Union foreign ministers will hold an emergency meeting. The Swiss franc advanced to a one-year high against the euro while the Russian central bank unexpectedly raised interest rates as the rouble plunged to a record. A measure of global foreign-exchange price swings jumped to the most in three weeks.

"We have seen some safe-haven demand given the Ukrainian crisis and the geopolitical event risk that it entails," said Alvin Tan, a currency strategist at Societe Generale SA in London. "Traditional havens like the yen and the Swiss franc are up. How this evolves depends on how the US and European Union respond to the Russian action in Ukraine."

The yen climbed 0.5 per cent to 101.24 per US dollar as at 7.09am in New York after reaching 101.20, the strongest level since Feb 5. It jumped 0.8 per cent to 139.37 per euro, the biggest increase since Jan 31. The 18-nation currency slid 0.3 per cent to US$1.3764.


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