Yen rises, euro falls amid gloomy economic recovery

The Japanese yen climbed to a three-year peak against the euro and a seven-week high against the dollar on Wednesday amid a rocky global economic recovery.

The euro stood at 1.0826 against the dollar and at 115.09 against the yen. 

The yen climbed to 106.22 against the dollar. Other major currencies steadied amid the U.S.-China tensions that dampened market mood.

The yen gained 2% on the dollar and almost 6% on the euro for this year. It reached a three-week high on the Korean won and nearing a month high on the Australian dollar.

The Australian and the New Zealand dollars both steadied against the dollar, trading at $0.6432 and $0.6052, respectively. 

The pound firmed at $1.2431.

U.S. President Donald Trump pressed China regarding the origins of the virus again. Markets closely await Beijing’s response to Trump’s comments. An escalation of the tensions could lead to new tariffs on Chinese imports.

The Chinese yuan recovered some of its losses and traded at 7.0885 against the dollar.