Investing.com - The yen and the euro rallied on Monday as a fresh plunge in Chinese equities overnight added to fears that the world’s second-largest economy is slowing and hastened an exodus from riskier assets.
USD/JPY hit one-and-a-half month lows of 120.73 and was last down 0.79% at 121.09.
The dollar was also sharply lower against the euro, with the single currency up 0.69% to six-month highs of 1.1458.
Shares in China fell more than 8% on Monday, erasing all of the year’s gains. The decline came as Beijing held back from implementing fresh measures to support equities after markets fell 11% last week.
Financial markets have been roiled since China devalued the yuan on August 11, sparking fears that the economy may be slowing at a faster than expected rate.
Data on Friday showing that manufacturing activity in China contracted at the fastest rate in six-and-a-half years in August exacerbated fears over a China led slowdown in the global economy.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was down 0.59% to two-month lows of 94.3.
The dollar has come under pressure as mounting uncertainty over the global growth outlook and the subdued U.S. inflation outlook has prompted investors to push back expectations for an initial rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
Meanwhile the Australian dollar tumbled to six-year lows of 0.7201 and was last at 0.7250.
The Aussie is sensitive to news out of China, a top export market for Australia.