Dollar Gains as Haven Demand Increases Amid Political Deadlock

Bloomberg, (09/10) -- The dollar rose versus most major peers as a U.S. political stalemate persisted and President Barack Obama warned the nation faces a “very deep recession” if Congress doesn’t raise the debt limit, fueling haven demand. The yen fell from an eight-week high versus the dollar after Japan’s current-account surplus unexpectedly shrank to a record for an August. The Japanese currency failed to maintain a breach of its 200-day moving average versus the dollar, signaling further weakness. The franc pared a loss versus the euro as the Swiss National Bank said it hasn’t intervened in currency markets for more than a year. The rand rose. The dollar increased 0.2 percent to 96.88 yen at 4:19 p.m. New York time after gaining as much as 0.6 percent earlier. The greenback was little changed at $1.3577 per euro after rising 0.2 percent earlier. The 17-nation currency appreciated 0.2 percent to 131.52 yen. The JPMorgan Global FX Volatility Index fell to as low as 8.68 percent, the least since May 9, before trading at 8.73. The 2013 average is 9.37 percent.