Yen gains in Asia on Ukraine conflict fears

TOKYO, Mar  3 (AFP): The yen gathered steam in Asia Monday on rising geopolitical fears as Ukraine mobilised its army with Russian troops poised to invade the former Soviet state.
In Tokyo afternoon trade, the dollar weakened to 101.45 yen, from 101.76 yen in New York Friday afternoon.
The euro was also down at 139.79 yen from 140.44 yen, while it weakened to $1.3778 against $1.3800 in US trade.
Russia's parliament voted Saturday to allow President Vladimir Putin to send troops into Crimea-a predominantly Russian-speaking peninsula in the southeast of Ukraine-following the ouster of the country's pro-Moscow government.
The move was met with global condemnation, with the leaders of the world's top industrialised powers-Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States-calling it a "clear violation" of Ukraine's sovereignty.
Symbolically billing themselves as the G7, they warned in a statement that Russia's actions were incompatible with the Group of Eight Nations, which Moscow joined in 1997.