2015.01.1200:21:21UTC+00Japanese yen at highest since December on weak US labor market

The Japanese yen climbed to its highest level since December against the US dollar as worries surfaced the US labor market was too weak for the Federal Reserve to begin raising interest rates.

The yen added 0.2% to ¥118.28 per greenback and reached ¥118.13, the highest since the ¥118.06 high touched on January 6, which was the firmest since December 17.

Japanese markets were closed today to observe the Coming-of-Age Day.

“The market’s confidence that the Fed’s lift-off will take place near mid-year has been shaken,” said analysts at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.