Yen extends gains, hits 5-mth high vs dollar -EBS

LONDON, July 13 (Reuters) - The yen hit a five-month high against the dollar on Monday, extending gains as risk-averse investors picked up the Japanese currency, which also rose after the Japanese government upgraded its economic assessment.

Japan's government upgraded its assessment for the third straight month in July [ID:nTKG006408]. The dollar JPY= fell more than half a percent on the day to 91.73 yen, according to electronic trading platform EBS.

The yen extended gains across the board, climbing more than 1.5 percent against currencies perceived to be higher-risk, including sterling and the New Zealand and Australian dollar. The Australian currency hit an eight-week low of 70.78 yen AUDJPY=R, according to Reuters data.

The Australian currency suffered broadly, hitting its weakest level against the U.S. dollar in more than seven weeks at $0.7700 AUD=D4.

(Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu and Tamawa Desai)