Investing.com - The yen gained ground against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday as concerns over the latest escalation in the protracted Sino- U.S. trade war underpinned demand for safe haven assets.
Global markets have been whipsawed by developments in the trade dispute this month. U.S. President Donald Trump claimed Monday that Chinese officials had called and offered to resume negotiations, an assertion that China declined to confirm.
His comments helped temper sharp losses in global markets after both sides announced new tariffs on Friday. But concerns remain about a lack of a clear path toward resolving the dispute which has seen the global economic outlook deteriorate.
The dollar was down 0.37% against the yen at 105.72 by 04:02 AM ET (08:02 GMT).
The yen, which tends to be bought in times of economic uncertainty, also rose around 0.6% versus the Australian and New Zealand dollars.
The U.S. dollar index measuring the greenback against a basket of six major currencies was down 0.17% at 97.81.
Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields fell to 1.51%. The yield curve was inverted as 2-year yields traded at 1.53%, which is commonly considered a sign of an impending economic recession.
China’s onshore yuan fell to a fresh eleven-and-a-half year low, amid worries that the economy is suffering from the ongoing trade dispute.
The euro was little changed at 1.1106.
The British pound traded at 1.2243, after a 0.5% fall on Monday as investors reassessed whether British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had made any progress in convincing the European Union to renegotiate the Brexit agreement.
Johnson said on Monday he was prepared to take Brexit talks with the European Union down to the very last minute before the Oct. 31 exit deadline, and if necessary to take a decision to leave without a deal on that day.
--Reuters contributed to this report