As the markets turn risk-off following concerns about Portugal’s Banco Espirito Santo, investors are turning to safe-haven exchange traded funds that track Treasury bonds, gold bullion and the Japanese yen currency.
The CurrencyShares Japanese Yen Trust (NYSEArca: FXY) rose 0.2% Thursday, as the yen currency hit a five-month high against the euro and moved close to a two-month high against the U.S. dollar.
The USD per JPY fell 0.3% Thursday and currently sits at around 101.35.
“We’re seeing some problems coming out of Europe,” Sireen Harajli, a foreign exchange strategist at Mizuho Corporate Bank, said in a Reuters article. “Markets are selling euros and buying safe havens like the Japanese yen.”
The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (NYSEArca: TLT) increased 0.1% Thursday.
The renewed contagion concerns for peripheral markets is also pushing European investors toward U.S. Treasuries. [ETF Chart of the Day: Problems in Portugal]
“The brewing crisis in Europe has brought demand into the market, as a part of a broader flight to quality that is benefiting 30-year bonds, even with the lowest yields in some time,” Ian Lyngen, a government-bond strategist at CRT Capital Group LLC, said in a Bloomberg article.