Yen has best week in 16 months as oil slump fuels refuge demand

New York

THE yen had its biggest weekly advance against the dollar in 16 months last week as the market contagion from the rout in crude oil prices drove investors to haven currencies and Japan prepared for national elections on Sunday.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell for the first week since October as the collapse in inflation expectations causes investors to rethink what the Federal Reserve may do at a meeting this week. Russia's rouble reached a record low as oil sank, while the Swiss franc rose to the strongest since September 2012 versus the euro.