Yen and Swiss franc accelerate from this morning, for the same reasons that are pushing the German debt and gold markets. The precipitation of the Ukrainian crisis set in motion the typical defensive tools of investors and saw demand directed towards the currencies of Japan and Switzerland: the yen thus rose to its highest level in over a month against the dollar and the Swiss franc reached the highest for a year against the euro.
By mid-morning, the Japanese currency was trading at 101,35 (101,76 on Friday) and the Swiss at 139,67 (140,63 at the ECB's survey on Friday).
The euro, on the other hand, lost all the gains it had consolidated last week after the publication of a series of data linked to the outlook for inflation which had reduced expectations of a further reduction in the interest rate by the ECB.
The ruble has collapsed against the most important currencies: against the euro it has updated its new historical low, falling for the first time below the important psychological threshold of 50 rubles, and against the dollar it has touched the minimum since 2009 at 36,85 . The decision taken this morning by the Russian Central Bank to raise the cost of money to 7% from 5,5% has been of little use, at least for the moment.
The news that the Russian Parliament unanimously voted to deploy troops in Ukraine precipitated the situation and fueled speculation: for now there is no declaration of war but the move was seen as a clear challenge to warnings from Western leaders not to intervene. With more than 6 men armed and supported by ships, Russia has effectively taken control of the Crimean peninsula.
