The yen endured a turbulent ride this week, rallying sharply before resuming its recent downtrend to end the first-half of the year on a weak note.

Fears over the potential fallout of the problems in the US subprime mortgage sector rocked global asset markets in the first half of the week. Analysts said the resulting rise in volatility saw investors trim carry trades, in which the low-yielding yen is sold to fund the purchase of riskier, higher-yielding assets elsewhere.