American focus: dollar down

The dollar fell to a four-month low against the euro after the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said to hold a third round of quantitative easing, which is aimed at reducing the cost of the U.S. currency.

The U.S. currency may show the largest weekly decline against the euro since October 2010, amid a new round of monetary stimulus.

The yen fell against all 16 most-traded currencies, after Finance Minister Jun Azumi said he was prepared to intervene in the market to weaken the currency.

The dollar fell 1.1% to $ 1.3137, while reaching the lowest level since May 4.

The yen fell by 1% to 78.23, after falling to 77.13 yesterday, showed the lowest reading since February 9. The euro rose 2.1% to 102.77 yen, after reaching 103.02, which was a maximum of 14 May.

The euro is growing a fourth day against the dollar as the background of the fact that Europe's finance ministers and central bankers gathered in Cyprus for a two-day meeting to discuss the next steps in solving the region's debt crisis.

Also today, Morgan Stanley raised its forecast for the euro at the end of the year to $ 1.34 from $ 1.19, while Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN) increased its three-month forecast to $ 1.23 from $ 1.17. According to the median forecast, the single currency will end the year at $ 1.23.

The Swiss franc continued its three-day decline in a row against the euro. Value of the options, which give the right to buy the single currency against the yen, higher selling prices rose for the first time since April 4. The Swiss National Bank also announced yesterday that it would continue to support the franc at 1.2 to the euro.

The dollar index, which is used to track the value of the dollar against six major currencies, was down by 0.6% to 78.760, after touching a level of 78.601, which is a minimum of 29 February.