Investing.com - The dollar fell to the lowest level in a year against the safe haven yen on Wednesday as oil prices fell to fresh 12-year lows, adding to fears over slowing global growth.
USD/JPY hit lows of 116.10, the weakest level since January 2015 and was last at 116.21, off 1.23% for the day.
The dollar was also weaker against the safe haven Swiss franc, with USD/CHF sliding 0.28% to 1.0004.
Oil prices fell to the lowest level since 2003 on Wednesday, falling below $28 per barrel after the International Energy Agency said in a report that the supply glut in markets looks set to last until at least late 2016.
The drop in oil prices, which are down more than 70% from their 2014 high, has fueled mounting risk aversion, sending global equities sharply lower since the start of the year.
Fears over the global economic outlook escalated after data on Tuesday showed that China’s economy expanded 6.9% in 2015, the slowest rate of growth in 25 years.
The low-yielding euro gained ground against the greenback, with EUR/USD rising 0.45% to 1.0957.
The pound remained on the defensive, trading near seven-year lows after dovish comments by Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, who indicated Tuesday that U.K. interest rates are likely to remain on hold for longer.
GBP/USD eased 0.17% to 1.4134, near Tuesday’s lows of 1.4128, the lowest since March 2009.
The currencies of commodity producing countries were also struggling, with AUD/USD dropping 1.09% to almost six-year lows of 0.6833.
The New Zealand dollar fell to fresh four-month lows after weak domestic inflation data was seen as increasing the chances of a rate cut.
NZD/USD was down 0.99% to 0.6351, the lowest since September.
The Canadian dollar fell to fresh 13-year lows, with USD/CAD rising 0.7% to 1.4681.
The Bank of Canada was to hold its latest monetary policy meeting later in the day, with some analysts expecting a rate cut in response to falling oil prices.