Yen Jumps to 2009 High Against Australian Dollar – 2 January, 2019

Investors are trying to comprehend why the Japanese currency skyrocketed and the Australian dollar and Turkish Lira were encouraged to be sold against the yen. With heightened global growth risks and scrambles to turn to safe haven currencies, the yen jumped 8 percent against the Australian dollar to its strongest level since 2009. Against its 10 major peers, the yen rose roughly 1 percent. News from Apple Inc. cutting sales outlooks and the possibility that Japanese retail investors were behind the trades are only two of the reasons the currency jumped. Against the dollar, the yen advanced 105.50.  Japan is currently on a four day holiday, and traders are working fast to try and take care of a swarm of sell orders, though the Japanese currency could still be on track to repeat the gains it saw last year, backed by sliding stocks and the ongoing U.S.- China trade tensions.