Strengthening dollar hits four-year high against yen The US dollar continued to rise against major counterparts on Friday following positive signs on the US economy the previous day that helped the currency make strong gains against the yen. The dollar index, which weighs the US currency against a basket of major counterparts, rose 0.6 per cent to its strongest level in more than a month as it continued to benefit from figures released on Thursday showing weekly jobless claims at their lowest level in five years. The figures helped the dollar to rise to its strongest level against the yen in more than four years amid signs that Japanese investors were also selling their currency. The dollar rose 1.1 per cent to Y101.98 against the yen after breaking through the Y100 level the previous day, to hit its highest level since October 2008. The euro rose 0.4 per cent to Y132.25, its strongest level since January 2010. The euro fell 0.6 per cent to $1.2935, its weakest level in more than a month, with figures showing industrial production in Italy fell by more than expected in March adding to the headwinds for the currency and heightening concerns over the health of the eurozone economy. The pound fell 0.7 per cent to $1.5312. The Australian and New Zealand dollars were heavier losers against the US dollar after central banks in both countries took steps to curb strength in their currencies earlier in the week. The Australian dollar hit an 11-month low, falling 0.9 per cent to $0.9958 while the New Zealand dollar fell 1.3 per cent to $0.8257. The Swiss franc, a traditional currency haven, was another big loser as the US dollar rose 1 per cent to SFr0.9628, a nine-month high. The euro hit its strongest level against the franc since January, rising 0.5 per cent to SFr1.2460. The dollar received a further boost against the yen after figures from Japan's Ministry of Finance released on Friday showed that domestic residents were net buyers of overseas assets in the two weeks to May 4. Investors in Japan had previously defied expectations they would take advantage of the weaker yen to invest more money overseas. Currency analysts said the change in behaviour from Japanese investors could signal further yen weakness ahead but warned that the outflows from Japan were still relatively muted. "We want to see how flows behave in the wake of the recent dollar-yen break above Y100 before exhibiting confidence that the Bank of Japan's 4 April monetary policy shock is changing Japanese asset allocations," said analysts at Credit Suisse.