RTRS: Yen, dollar rise on flu jitters, Mexican peso falls
The yen and the dollar rose on Monday and the Mexican peso fell on concern about the spread of swine flu, which has killed 103 people in Mexico and infected people in the United States and Canada.
The World Health Organization declared the flu a "public health emergency of international concern" that could become a global outbreak of serious disease.
The Mexican peso fell 2 percent against the dollar in Asian trade, although Mexican Finance Minister Agustin Carstens tried to reassure markets, saying the impact on the economy would be "transitory.
The dollar fell to its lowest in a month against the Japanese currency but climbed against the Australian and New Zealand dollars and against the euro.
Analysts said investors were unwinding positions in currencies such as that of New Zealand, where a teacher was being treated for flu-like symptoms, and were cautious about the economic impact on travel and transport.
"Swine flu is center stage. The Aussie and kiwi are hit hard. There is general risk aversion with concerns about the possible spread to other countries," said Masafumi Yamamoto, head of FX strategy Japan at Royal Bank of Scotland.
The peso weakened past 13.60 per dollar from a close of 13.284 pesos on Friday and Yamamoto said it would face further pressure later in the day when U.S. trading begins.
The dollar fell to 96.62 yen, its lowest in a month, before edging back to 96.75 yen, down 0.4 percent on the day. But it rose 0.4 percent against a basket of currencies to 85.071
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The Australian dollar fell 1.3 percent to $0.7135.
Australia said it would strengthen its border surveillance for swine flu.
Takahide Nagasaki, chief FX strategist at Daiwa Securities SMBC in Tokyo, said the market needed to see the extent of the outbreak and its overall impact before any judgments could be made on the broader market effect.
"What needs to be watched going forward is the kind of impact the outbreak will have on North American trade and the movement of people," Nagasaki said.
The New Zealand dollar lost 1.2 percent to $0.5650, pressured both by swine flu worries and caution ahead of a rate decision from the central bank on Thursday.
