Dollar hits 15-year low vs yen

NEW YORK : The US dollar s downturn gathered pace on Thursday as it slid to a 15-year low against the Japanese yen and an all-time low against the Swiss franc on the prospect of the US Federal Reserve printing more money.

Broad US dollar selling pushed the euro to a more than eight-month high before investors bet that the rise was too far, too fast, while the Australian dollar surged to a 27-year high against its US counterpart after surprisingly strong Australian jobs data revived talk of a Reserve Bank of Australia rate hike. The US dollar fell against all the majors except the Canadian dollar as investors (and) traders try to get in front of the (quantitative easing) wave everyone expects, said T. J. Marta, chief market strategist at Marta on the Markets. The Bank of England and the European Central Bank both stood pat on their monetary policies on Thursday, reinforcing the notion the Fed is further along the path to another round of quantitative easing than many other central banks, a move that would knock the dollar lower. Midway though the New York session, the euro was down 0. 1 percent at $1. 3918 after earlier climbing to an 8-1/2 month high of $1. 4030 on electronic trading platform EBS. Traders reported good demand for one-month $1. 4150 strikes as the market speculated on further euro gains.

The dollar was at 82. 32 yen, down 0. 7 percent, after hitting a 15-year low at 82. 11 yen on trading platform EBS. Traders said there were options barriers at 82.