ING analyst Chris Turner said rising energy prices could prompt markets to
reprice other central banks' rate-hike expectations, keeping low-yield
currencies such as the yen and Swiss franc under pressure. He noted equities
have held up despite higher energy costs, which may reduce the yen and franc's
safe-haven appeal, but a more important factor "appears to be low rates and the
slow pace of rate hikes by central banks." USD/JPY was down 0.2% at 162.90 after
touching a 40-year high of 163.23 on Tuesday. USD/CHF was down 0.1% at 0.8118,
near an overnight one-week high of 0.8133.
