Yen New Year Rally Builds as North Korea Test Adds to China Woes
- Currency jumps as yuan sinks on signs of economic slowing
- Dollar index climbs on jobs data before release of Fed minutes
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The yen climbed to an almost three-month high against the dollar as North Korea’s claim that it successfully tested its first hydrogen bomb added to demand for the safest assets.
Japan’s currency is the only one of 16 major peers to have started the year stronger versus the greenback. The yen rose amid concern China’s economy is slowing and as Saudi Arabia’s allies move to isolate Iran after the worst deterioration in relations between the Middle East powers in almost three decades. A gauge of the dollar strengthened after a private report showed U.S. companies added more workers than projected in December.