SINGAPORE — Oil prices dropped and the safe-haven yen strengthened in the afternoon of Asian trading hours on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced he tested positive for the coronavirus.
International benchmark Brent crude futures were down 3.62% to $39.45 per barrel. U.S. crude futures also shed 3.64% to $37.31 per barrel. That followed a sizable decline on Thursday of nearly 4%.
Shares of oil companies regionally also fell in Friday trade. In Australia, shares of Beach Energy dropped 5.62% while Santos fell more than 5%. Over in Japan, Inpex slipped 3.07%.
Japanese yen strengthens
The Japanese yen — often seen as a safe-haven currency — strengthened following Trump’s announcement, last changing hands at 105.01 per dollar after an earlier low of 105.66 against the greenback.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, also rose. It was last at 93.806 after touching an earlier high of 94.031. Early in the day during Asia hours, the dollar index was at levels above 93.7.
The Australian dollar slipped to $0.7138, following an earlier high of $0.7189.
Asia-Pacific markets decline
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 dropped 1.46%. Australia’s retail sales data for August fell 4% on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to data from the country’s Bureau of Statistics. That followed a rise of 3.2% in July.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 declined 0.67% while the Topix index slipped 1%. The Tokyo Stock Exchange returned to trade on Friday following a halting of trade yesterday caused by a hardware glitch.
Singapore’s Straits Times index slipped 1.06% in afternoon trade.
Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index dipped 0.33%.
Markets in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and India are closed on Friday for holidays.
Source: CNBC