The euro jumped to a fresh all-time high against the yen in Asian trade earlier today after Group of Seven finance chiefs avoided specific mention of the sliding Japanese currency.
The European single currency also hit fresh two-year highs against the dollar today amid concerns about slowing US economic growth as well as the prospects for another interest rate rise in the euro zone.
The euro rose to as high as 162.43 yen in early Tokyo trade before falling back slightly to 162.20 this evening. The euro was earlier today trading at a two-year high of $1.3576. It is now edging towards its all-time high of $1.3666 and this evening is worth $1.3547.
Finance ministers and central bank governors from the seven top industrialised nations warned at their weekend meeting in Washington that excessive volatility on foreign exchange markets was 'undesirable'.
But the G7 refrained from commenting on the weakness of the yen, a trend that has unsettled euro zone officials who fear it will erode euro zone export earnings and dampen growth. The ministers instead reiterated calls on China to allow the yuan to appreciate more rapidly.
