Investing.com - The yen gained ground against the dollar and the euro on Thursday as ongoing weakness in oil prices continued to weigh on global stocks, underpinning investor demand for safe haven assets.
USD/JPY fell to lows of 120.36 and was last at 120.64, off 0.31% for the day and down from the one-month high of 121.68 hit on Friday after the Bank of Japan’s shock decision to adopt negative interest rates.
Asian shares fell overnight as oil prices fell on oversupply fears and after weak manufacturing data from China and the U.S. added to concerns over slowing global growth.
European shares were also lower after the open as losses in the mining and energy sectors weighed.
The low-yielding euro also pushed higher against the dollar, with EUR/USD rising 0.25% to 1.0915.
The euro zone was to release data on the unemployment rate for December later in the day. The jobless rate was expected to remain at 10.5%, matching November’s four-year low.
The single currency was steady against the yen, with EUR/JPY at 131.63, not far from Friday’s one-month highs of 132.31.
The Australian dollar was lower, with AUD/USD down 0.66% to 0.7065.
The Aussie fell amid profit taking after the Reserve Bank of Australia left interest rates on hold at 2% on Tuesday and said inflation remained close to target.
But the RBA also noted that the subdued inflation outlook meant there was scope for further easing.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 99.02.