* Yen soars to three-year high
* Euro jumps as U.S. yields crater
* Oil-exposed currencies plunge
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
By Tom Westbrook
SINGAPORE, March 9 (Reuters) - The dollar dived against the
euro and yen on Monday as a slump in oil prices combined with
coronavirus fears to drive U.S. yields to once-unthinkable lows.
Oil prices collapsed 30% after Saudi Arabia stunned markets
with a pledge to slash prices and boost production following the
collapse of an OPEC supply agreement. O/R
Panicked investors rushed to the safety of bonds, sending
30-year U.S. yields beneath 1% and 10-year yields under 0.5%,
all but eliminating what was once the dollar's chief attraction.
MTKS/GLOB
In hectic trade, it fell 3% against the yen to 101.58, its
lowest in three years. The euro EUR= was last up 1% at
$1.1408, while the Australian AUD=D3 and New Zealand NZD=D3
dollars were down close to 2% with the fearful mood.
"It is totally wild," said Shafali Sachdev, head of FX Asia
at BNP Paribas Wealth Management in Singapore. "Everyone has
been expecting it for a while, but just the speed of the move
has taken everyone by surprise," she said.
"This is not a train I want to be getting in front of, and
how long it continues and where it goes from here is going to
depend on how the situation evolves," she added, saying further
stock falls could drive even more gains in funding currencies.
So far, the yen's rise has it headed for its largest
three-day gain since the depths of the 2008 financial crisis. It
is up 9.4% in a dozen trading days.
The gain has raised concerns among policymakers in Japan,
where it is bad news for exporters, with a senior finance
official telling warning authorities were closely watching
trade.
At one point, the Aussie AUDJPY= was down 6% at an 11-year
low against the yen while the Kiwi NZDJPY= fell more than 7%.
The number of people infected with the coronavirus has
topped 107,000 across the world as the outbreak reached more
countries and caused more economic disruption. "This fall in the oil price just comes at the worst time, or
at least that's how financial markets are reading it," said Paul
Mackel, head of emerging markets FX research at HSBC in Hong
Kong.
"Volatility across assets is overshadowing any type of
silver lining from a fall in the oil price," he said, adding it
was hard to tell when fear and nerves would subside.
The Australian dollar last traded at $0.6540, having
recovered from its drop to $0.6311, while the dollar last sat at
a 17-month low against a basket of currencies =USD .
Meanwhile, the oil price fall triggered withering sell-offs
in oil exporters' currencies.
The Russian rouble RUB= and Mexican peso MXN= each fell
as much as 6% against the dollar. The Norwegian krone NOK=D3
shed 3% to hit a record trough. The Canadian dollar CAD=D3
fell 1.6% to 1.3640 per dollar, its lowest since 2017.