American focus: the dollar rallied against the euro and yen

The dollar rallied against the euro and yen after comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke reduced speculation the central bank will provide more monetary stimulus. The dollar erased earlier losses after Bernanke said there are “positive developments” in the labor market, adding that “the job market remains far from normal.” Bernanke said that “in light of the somewhat different signals received recently from the labor market than from indicators of final demand and production, however, it will be especially important to evaluate incoming information to assess the underlying pace of economic recovery.”

The euro weakened earlier after the European Central Bank awarded 529.5 billion euros ($712 billion) in a second round of three-year loans to banks, increasing the supply of euros. The 17-nation euro declined versus all but one of its 16 major counterparts as the ECB auction of three-year loans surpassed the 470 billion euros forecast by economists. The Frankfurt-based central bank said it will lend the funds to 800 financial institutions. In its first three-year refinancing operation in December, 523 banks borrowed 489 billion euros.