Investing.com - The dollar rose to two-week highs against the euro on Thursday and the yen moved higher as rising geopolitical tensions in Ukraine fuelled risk aversion, supporting safe haven demand.
EUR/USD hit 1.3643, the lowest since February 13 and was last down 0.26% to 1.3650.
Market sentiment was hit by fresh tensions between Russia and Ukraine after Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted last week.
Investors also remained cautious ahead of euro zone inflation figures on Friday amid concerns over the threat of deflation in the euro area.
USD/JPY hit lows of 102.05 and was last down 0.30% to 102.06.
The dollar moved higher against the yen on Wednesday after the Commerce Department reported that new home sales rose to their highest level since July 2008 in January.
The data came after a recent series of disappointing U.S. economic reports raised doubts over the strength of the recovery.
Elsewhere, GBP/USD was down 0.20% to 1.6635, while USD/CHF edged up 0.04% to 0.8910.
The Swiss franc showed little reaction after data on Thursday showed that the country’s economy grew 0.2% in the final three months of 2013 and expanded 1.7% on a year over-year basis.
Market expectations had been for quarterly growth of 0.4% and year-on-year growth of 2.0%.
The Australian dollar fell to three week lows following weak data on domestic business investment, with AUD/USD down 0.45% to 0.8927. Australian private capital expenditure declined by 5.2% in the fourth quarter official data on Thursday showed, well ahead of expectations for a 1% fall.
Meanwhile, NZD/USD was up 0.42% to 0.8348 after data showed that the country’s trade deficit narrowed in January.
The U.S. dollar slid lower against the Canadian dollar, with USD/CAD dipping 0.07% to 1.1123.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.12% to 80.53.