Investing.com - The dollar fell against the yen and the Swiss franc on Monday as escalating geopolitical tensions over Ukraine fuelled risk aversion, bolstering demand for safe haven assets.
USD/JPY hit 101.26, the lowest since February 6 and was last down 0.41% to 101.37.
Market sentiment was hit by fears over the unfolding crisis in the Ukraine, following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to send troops into the Crimea region over the weekend.
The move sparked fears that the West will impose economic sanctions against Russia. Russia’s central bank hiked interest rates from 5.5% to 7% on Monday, after the rouble fell to new record lows against the euro and dollar.
The dollar was trading close to 16-month lows against the traditional safe haven Swiss franc, with USD/CHF edging up 0.07% to 0.8809.
Earlier Monday, the euro fell to its lowest level in a year against the Swiss franc, with EUR/CHF hitting lows of 1.2103, before pushing back up to 1.2133.
The euro remained supported against the dollar, with EUR/USD slipping 0.12% to 1.3785, not far from Friday’s two-month highs of 1.3823.
Demand for the common currency continued to be underpinned after data late last week showed that the annual rate of inflation in the euro zone remained steady at 0.8% in February. The data eased pressure on the European Central Bank to tighten monetary policy at its upcoming meeting on Thursday.
Elsewhere, GBP/USD was down 0.24% to 1.6707, ahead of U.K. data on manufacturing activity due out later in the session.
The Australian dollar was steady, with AUD/USD edging up 0.03% to trade at 0.8930, while NZD/USD dipped 0.07% to 0.8376.
The U.S. dollar was little changed against the Canadian dollar, with USD/CAD dipping 0.01% to 1.1062.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.09% to 79.88.