Investing.com - The yen surged against the pound, the U.S. dollar and the euro on Monday after the release of worse-than-forecast data on the housing market in Britain and business confidence in Germany.
During European afternoon trade, the Japanese currency hit an 8-day high against the pound, with GBP/JPY plummeting to 139.71; the pair subsequently consolidated around 140.09, shedding 0.72%.
GBP/JPY was likely to find support at 138.25, the low of Feb. 5, and resistance at 141.67, the daily high.
Meanwhile, the yen hit a 3-day high against the U.S. dollar: USD/JPY tumbled to 90.64, its lowest rate since Thursday, after which it bounced slightly to 90.77, losing 0.41%.
The yen also soared to a 3-day high against the euro, with EUR/JPY reaching 123.03 before it rebounded to 123.28, shedding 0.51%.
Earlier in the day, the British Bankers' Association said that the number of home purchase loans approved by banks in Britain fell unexpectedly on a monthly basis in January, although the figure was almost 40% up from a year ago.
The association said 35,083 mortgage applications were approved during the month, down from the 45,650 loans approved in December. Analysts had forecast the figure to drop only to 45,300.
Also Tuesday, the Ifo Institute said its German business climate index fell to 95.2 in February from 95.8 in January. Economists had expected a rise to 96.3.
But the index measuring firms' business expectations over the next six months improved slightly to 100.9 from 100.6.