Bloomberg (14/10) -- The yen rose versus all its major peers as talks
between President Barack Obama and House Republicans hit an impasse and
U.S. senators from both parties struggled to draft an accord that averts
a U.S. default.The yen advanced versus the greenback for the
first time in five days after Obama reiterated he will negotiate on the
budget after the debt ceiling is raised and a partial government
shutdown ends. The U.S.’s borrowing authority lapses on Oct. 17.
Australia’s currency fell after its largest trading partner China said
exports unexpectedly declined. The Singapore dollar held a two-week gain
after the central bank decided to retain the currency’s “modest and
gradual” appreciation.“The yen’s safe-haven appeal is still very
strong, and that’s benefited from being removed from U.S. fiscal
shenanigans,” said Mike Jones, a currency strategist in Wellington at
Bank of New Zealand Ltd. “A lower dollar-yen is the way to play this if
you think we’re going to border on a U.S. default.”The yen rose
0.3 percent to 98.29 per dollar as of 11:18 a.m. in Singapore, rallying
from a 1.1 percent decline last week. It rose 0.2 percent to 133.32 per
euro. The dollar weakened 0.2 percent to $1.3564 per euro.Democratic
lawmakers warned over the weekend that a lack of movement may have an
effect on financial markets. U.S. stock markets will be open on the
federal Columbus Day holiday today. Bond markets will be closed. Japan’s
markets are closed today for a holiday.Standard & Poor’s
500 Index futures signaled equities will fall in the U.S. and
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said the
congressional deadlock is threatening the U.S. and world economies.
