XE Market Analysis: Europe – Feb 13, 2019

A risk-on theme continued to course through forex markets, which has propelled AUD-JPY, a cross with a relatively high beta characteristic, up by over 0.6% in making an eight-day high at 78.94. USD-JPY, meanwhile, rose for a third consecutive session, this time printing a new seven-week high at 110.70. EUR-JPY and other Yen crosses have also been on the ascent, with the Japanese currency losing safe haven premium. The MSCI Asia-Pacific (ex-Japan) equity index rallied by over 0.5% to four-month highs, while Japan’s Nikkei closed with a 1.4% gain, at eight-week highs.