NEW YORK, Oct 22 (Reuters) - The yen was on track for its strongest daily gain in almost a month on Thursday, as investors sought safety amid fragile equity markets, elevated crude prices from the drawn-out war in the Middle East, and doubts over future returns from artificial intelligence.
The US dollar, meanwhile, rose against the euro. Worries about social unrest in France and a worsening fiscal outlook for the country outweighed concerns about the AI trade, which pushed US stocks lower.
"AI is making people nervous, as is oil ... and as is France," said Chris Scicluna, head of economic research at Daiwa Capital Markets.
Oil prices climbed about 3% to a five-month high after Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia stoked concerns of further disruption to energy supplies from the key exporting region.
The Japanese yen strengthened 0.75% to 156.96 per dollar.