The dollar tumbled against the Japanese yen on Thursday, dropping below 102 yen to levels not seen in more than a week as stocks in Japan plunged on back of fears the U.S. Federal Reserve could begin to pare back its bond-buying program.
In addition, weak data from China also weighed heavily on Asia markets. The dollar exchanged hands at ¥101.57 in recent trade, a more than 1% move south from levels seen late Wednesday in North America. Wall Street stocks finished lower on Wednesday and U.S. stock futures were pointing to more losses for Thursday after minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting and testimony from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke indicating a tapering of quantitative easing in the coming months.
The ICE dollar index , a gauge of the greenback’s movement against six other major currencies, fell to 84.248 from 83.251 late Wednesday in North America. The euro bought $1.2837, lower than late Wednesday’s level of $1.2850. The Australian dollar traded at 96 cents, not far off where it was trading late the prior North American session.
marketwatch
