Dollar dives below 112 yen on escalating US-N. Korea tensions

September 26, 2017

TOKYO- The dollar sank below 112 yen in Tokyo trading Tuesday, as the yen attracted safe-haven buying amid heightened tensions between the United States and North Korea.

At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at 111.75-76 yen, down from 112.22-23 yen at the same time Monday. The euro was at 1.1812-1813 dollars, down from 1.1909-1909 dollars, and at 132.01-02 yen, down from 133.66-68 yen.

In overseas trading Monday, the US currency briefly plunged below 111.50 yen after North Korea's foreign minister told reporters in New York that US President Donald Trump declared war against the reclusive Asian country by saying it "won't be around much longer" and that Pyongyang "has the right to shoot down US bombers" even outside North Korean skies.

In Tokyo, the greenback remained under selling pressure, also from dismal performance of the Nikkei stock average.

But the dollar recouped some of the lost ground and recovered to levels above 111.70 yen thanks to buybacks that emerged after the key US long-term interest rate stropped dropping, market sources said.

Players retreated to the sidelines late in the afternoon to see if Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen indicates in a speech later in the day the possibility of the Fed carrying out another interest rate hike by the year-end. Jiji Press