2014.05.1906:27:21UTC+00Yen close to 2-month high against dollar on Ukraine, China

The Japanese yen was close to two-month high against the US dollar as upheaval in Ukraine and anti-China violence prodded demand for safety.

The yen held a three-day profit as the yield premium 10-year US Treasuries render over similarmaturity Japanese government bonds was near a seven-month low. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen will speak this week.

“Demand for US Treasuries will continue to be supported by risk aversion, limiting the upside in dollar-yen. There is uncertainty surrounding presidential elections in Ukraine and rising tensions between China and Vietnam. It’s not an environment where investors want to aggressively take risks,” said Toshiya Yamauchi, Senior Analyst at Ueda Harlow Ltd.

The yen was slightly changed at ¥101.55 per dollar at 10:40 a.m. in Tokyo from the end of last week, profiting 0.7% in the last three sessions. It hit ¥101.32 on May 15, the strongest since March 19.

Ukrainian forces fought revolutionists in the east, killing one rebel and losing a police station, as separatists organized for an election that might be scheduled in September following they declared independence and said they wanted to join Russia.

Masked men set fire to a candidate’s regional campaign office ahead of presidential ballot on May 25 as government forces and insurgents clashed in the country's Dombass regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

China will deploy five ships to Vietnam to evacuate its citizens as Vietnamese authorities beat anti-China rallies following violent demonstrations led to two deaths and damages at factories.

Hundreds of security forces in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City dissuaded Vietnamese from protesting the placement of an oil rig in controversial waters off Vietnam's coast following the government allowed unprecedented rallies that gathered several thousands on May 11.