Yen Up On Risk Aversion After US Jobs Data

he yen extended gains to session highs against the euro and dollar Thursday after the release of a worse-than-expected June U.S. payrolls report, which sent U.S. stocks futures lower and risk aversion up.

The dollar fell to an intraday low of Y95.98 and the euro declined to Y134.82.

The safe-haven dollar also earlier hit a session high against the euro, which fell to $1.4014, but has since reversed that move.

The ongoing European Central Bank press conference now may be mitigating a more dramatic response to the data release.

Nonfarm payrolls declined 467,000 in June, the U.S. Labor Department said, a considerably greater decline than the 350,000 expected by economists in a Dow Jones Newswires survey.

In addition, the shortened holiday week in the U.S. is restraining some of the market's response. Alan Ruskin, head of international currency at RBS, said that's keeping the euro above a layer of support near $1.40.

However, this payrolls report "is definitely not good for risky assets, and this could actually help precipitate a pullback in risky assets," said David Woo, global head of foreign exchange strategy at Barclays Capital in London.