The Japanese currency gained today in Asia versus the South Korean won and in Europe versus the pound and the euro as stocks had a negative performance today after 5 consecutive days winning on renewed optimism towards the global economic situation.

Virtually all of the 16 most traded currencies slid versus the yen today as equities markets declined today on Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao statement regarding the future of the global economy, which is still very uncertain, spurring demand for the safety of the yen. Speculations today indicate that U.S. companies will post further losses as the real estate market is struggling to survive, affecting also the commodities market, which provided support for the yen to gain versus currencies like the Australian and New Zealand dollar. The pound declined on concerns that the Bank of England will maintain its benchmark interest rates at low levels.

Two main factors pushed risk aversion up today as China may be still facing economic difficulties and the U.S. real estate market is struggling to find its path of recovery, attracting investors to protect their portfolios buying yen-priced assets, known by their relative safety profile. Risk levels are playing a high volatility role for the yen, providing traders with a good opportunity for day trading on market sentiment.

EUR/JPY traded at 134.78 as of 11:25 GMT from a previous rate of 135.72 yesterday. GBP/JPY traded at 154.13 from 156.45.

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