U.S. Dollar, Japanese Yen Hold Ground as Risk Appetite Falters

The dollar and JPY continued to post gains in Asian trading as risk aversion dominated with the Nikkei falling over 2% and other Asian stock markets broadly lower. USD-JPY fell through stops under 94.50 to trade to 94.16 and the lowest levels since May. The dollar gained ground against the AUD, NZD, EUR and GBP over the session, partly pressured by the cross selling though AUD, NZD and EUR still managed to hold above the base of the current trading range. EUR-USD fell to lows of 1.3881 before bouncing back to 1.3927. GBP-USD extended losses to 1.6063 in early trading, recovering as high as 1.6114 in the afternoon. Commodity prices remained under pressure with oil extending losses and remaining under $63 while gold reversed Tuesday's gains on the back of the strong USD. Copper also slipped over 1% in Shanghai trading. U.S. Treasury yields were little changed in Asia.