Investing.com – The U.S. dollar was broadly higher against its major counterparts on Tuesday, as concerns over Japan’s escalating nuclear crisis saw investors seek refuge in traditional safe haven currencies.
During European morning trade, the greenback was down against the yen, with USD/JPY slipping 0.13% to hit 81.51.
Earlier in the day, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said there was a high risk of elevated levels of radiation following an explosion at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and urged people within 30 kilometers of the plant to stay indoors.
But the greenback was up against the euro, with EUR/USD tumbling 0.76% to hit 1.3886.
Meanwhile, the greenback fell against the Swiss franc but rose sharply against the pound with USD/CHF sliding 0.28% to hit 0.9216 and GBP/USD dropping 0.94% to hit 1.6016.
Elsewhere, the greenback was sharply higher against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand cousins, with USD/CAD jumping 1.04% to hit 0.9838, AUD/USD free falling 2.09% to hit 0.9987 and NZD/USD plunging 1.19% to hit 0.7303.
Earlier Tuesday, the minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s March 1 meeting showed that policymakers saw slower borrowing by households and businesses as offsetting a mining investment boom when they decided to keep interest rates unchanged.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.79%.
Later in the day, the U.S. Federal Reserve was to announce its federal funds rate. The U.S. was also to publish official data on manufacturing activity in the New York region.
During European morning trade, the greenback was down against the yen, with USD/JPY slipping 0.13% to hit 81.51.
Earlier in the day, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said there was a high risk of elevated levels of radiation following an explosion at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and urged people within 30 kilometers of the plant to stay indoors.
But the greenback was up against the euro, with EUR/USD tumbling 0.76% to hit 1.3886.
Meanwhile, the greenback fell against the Swiss franc but rose sharply against the pound with USD/CHF sliding 0.28% to hit 0.9216 and GBP/USD dropping 0.94% to hit 1.6016.
Elsewhere, the greenback was sharply higher against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand cousins, with USD/CAD jumping 1.04% to hit 0.9838, AUD/USD free falling 2.09% to hit 0.9987 and NZD/USD plunging 1.19% to hit 0.7303.
Earlier Tuesday, the minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s March 1 meeting showed that policymakers saw slower borrowing by households and businesses as offsetting a mining investment boom when they decided to keep interest rates unchanged.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.79%.
Later in the day, the U.S. Federal Reserve was to announce its federal funds rate. The U.S. was also to publish official data on manufacturing activity in the New York region.