Investing.com – The U.S. dollar was higher against most of its major rivals on Tuesday, as fears over the impact of last week’s devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the nuclear crisis it triggered hammered risk sentiment.
During early U.S. trade, the greenback was sharply lower against the yen, with USD/JPY tumbling 0.87% to hit 80.90.
Earlier Tuesday, Japanese government officials said radiation levels around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant had fallen, after an earlier explosion and fire sent low levels of radiation floating towards Tokyo.
But the greenback was up against the euro and the pound, with EUR/USD shedding 0.30% to hit 1.3948 and GBP/USD falling 0.66% to hit 1.6064.
Earlier, the Munich based ZEW Centre for Economic Research reported that its index of German economic expectations declined in March, saying the Japanese earthquake "could slow down the dynamics of German economic growth at least in the short run."
Meanwhile, the greenback fell to an all-time low against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF shedding 0.53% to hit 0.9193.
Elsewhere, the greenback was sharply higher against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand cousins, with USD/CAD jumping 1.03% to hit 0.9838, AUD/USD plunging 1.90% to hit 0.9906 and NZD/USD plummeting 1.00% to hit 0.7317.
Earlier Tuesday, official data showed that Canadian labor productivity outstripped expectations in the fourth quarter, rising 0.5%. Analysts had forecast an increase of 0.3%.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.30%.
Also Tuesday, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said its index of manufacturing conditions rose more-than-expected in March, while a separate report showed that U.S. import prices rose more than expected in February as costs increased for energy, industrial supplies and food.
Later in the day, the U.S. Federal Reserve was to announce its federal funds rate.
During early U.S. trade, the greenback was sharply lower against the yen, with USD/JPY tumbling 0.87% to hit 80.90.
Earlier Tuesday, Japanese government officials said radiation levels around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant had fallen, after an earlier explosion and fire sent low levels of radiation floating towards Tokyo.
But the greenback was up against the euro and the pound, with EUR/USD shedding 0.30% to hit 1.3948 and GBP/USD falling 0.66% to hit 1.6064.
Earlier, the Munich based ZEW Centre for Economic Research reported that its index of German economic expectations declined in March, saying the Japanese earthquake "could slow down the dynamics of German economic growth at least in the short run."
Meanwhile, the greenback fell to an all-time low against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF shedding 0.53% to hit 0.9193.
Elsewhere, the greenback was sharply higher against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand cousins, with USD/CAD jumping 1.03% to hit 0.9838, AUD/USD plunging 1.90% to hit 0.9906 and NZD/USD plummeting 1.00% to hit 0.7317.
Earlier Tuesday, official data showed that Canadian labor productivity outstripped expectations in the fourth quarter, rising 0.5%. Analysts had forecast an increase of 0.3%.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.30%.
Also Tuesday, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said its index of manufacturing conditions rose more-than-expected in March, while a separate report showed that U.S. import prices rose more than expected in February as costs increased for energy, industrial supplies and food.
Later in the day, the U.S. Federal Reserve was to announce its federal funds rate.