- Risk aversion boosts the Japanese yen across the board.
- Wall Street indices extend losses, Dow Jones down 1.45%.
- GBP/JPY drops to as low as 151.65, remains under pressure.
The GBP/JPY accelerated the decline as risk aversion intensified and fell to 151.65, the lowest level since December 22. The yen is rising across the board.
Putin talks, ruble tumbles, yen rises
The Russian invasion continues to be the most important driver for markets. The latest headline showed a report mentioning that Vladimir Putin told German Chancellor Scholz Russia is open for dialogue and added Ukraine should fulfil all demands.
US stocks are extending losses ahead of the weekend despite positive US employment numbers. The Dow Jones falls 1.45%, and the Nasdaq tumbles 1.95%. The fly to quality is boosting Treasuries and the Japanese yen. The Russian ruble is falling now by more than 10% versus the US dollar. USD/RUB hit a record high at 125.00.
The US 10-year yield stands at 1.70%, near the weekly low, while the 30-year at 2.13%. The decline in yields pushed USD/JPY below 115.00 adding more momentum to the yen, the best performer.
The pound also weakened further from the rebound in EUR/GBP. The cross rebounded from the lowest level since 2016 and is back above 0.8250.
The GBP/JPY is about to post the third consecutive weekly decline, and it trades 300 pips below the level it had a week ago, under the 20-week simple moving average.
Technical levels