The dollar fell to an eight-week low against the yen on speculation the U.S. Federal Reserve will boost purchases of assets to counter the global slump, increasing the supply of the U.S. currency.
The dollar weakened against 14 of the 16 most-traded currencies after the Fed projected a deeper recession, sapping demand for the U.S. currency as a refuge. New Zealand’s dollar rose for a fourth day after a government report showed immigration growth accelerated. The euro traded near a four- month high against the dollar before a European manufacturing and services report that may back the case for the region’s central bank to keep interest rates unchanged.
The U.S. currency declined to 94.71 yen as of 7:26 a.m. in London from 94.88 yesterday in New York. It earlier fell to 94.29, the lowest since March 20. Japan’s currency rose to 130.62 per euro from 130.77. The euro traded at $1.3789 from $1.3780 yesterday, when it reached $1.3830, the strongest level since Jan. 5.
The dollar fell as low as $1.5817 per pound, the weakest since Nov. 10, before trading at $1.5791 from $1.5755 yesterday. The New Zealand dollar rose to 60.96 U.S. cents from 60.58 cents.
