Dollar and yen rise on flight to safety as tensions are raised by the Hamas attack

9 Oct 2023 , 09:22 AM

On Monday, as Middle Eastern unrest frightened markets, safe-haven currencies like the dollar and the yen eked out a small gain. Meanwhile, the dollar gained more ground thanks to a strong U.S. jobs report.

While Japan was closed for a holiday, the riskier Australian and New Zealand dollars declined in sparse Asian activity.

The yen increased more than 0.3% to 157.55 against the euro, while the Australian dollar decreased over 0.7% at one stage to reach a session low of 94.84 yen.

The last time the Japanese yen purchased one dollar was 149.19.

After Israeli soldiers engaged in combat with gunmen from the Palestinian organization Hamas over the weekend, only hours after the terrorists launched a surprise attack on Israel, creating the bloodiest day of violence in the nation in 50 years, tensions were already tense.

The euro dropped 0.2% to $1.0565 against the dollar, while pound dropped 0.1% to $1.2218.

The dollar index last traded 0.11% higher at 106.21, receiving support from Friday’s data that showed the U.S. employment rate rose by the most in eight months in September, possibly paving the way for a higher-than-anticipated inflation reading later this week.

The probability that the Federal Reserve will keep rates on hold at its policy meeting in November is currently 82%.

The kiwi dipped to $0.5975 while the Australian dollar last traded 0.24% lower at $0.6369.

China returns from its Golden Week vacation in Asia. According to official figures released on Saturday, the nation’s foreign exchange reserves decreased more than was anticipated in September.

Offshore yuan last traded at 7.3123 per dollar, a small decline from previous trade.

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