NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The dollar fell to a 15-year low against the Japanese yen Wednesday, as investors flocked to safe-haven trades after weak economic data was released by China and the Federal Reserve posted a bearish outlook.
The greenback fell as much as 0.83% against the Japanese yen to ¥84.73 on Wednesday, before paring back some of those losses to trade around ¥84.95.
It was the dollar's lowest level against the yen since 1995, when it traded around ¥84.81.
Early Wednesday, China reported industrial output slowed for the fifth consecutive month in July, reaching the lowest level this year. Meanwhile, inflation in China -- measured by the consumer price index -- spiked to its highest level this year.
That news, combined with the Federal Reserve's announcement on Tuesday that it will take measures to stimulate the U.S. economy, added steam to fears about a global economic slowdown.
"The pace of recovery in output and employment has slowed in recent months," the Fed said in its statement. It agency still expects the economy to grow, bit it said the improvement will be "more modest in the near term than had been anticipated."
A downbeat outlook from the Bank of England on Wednesday also added fuel to the fire, sending U.S. stocks sinking in pre-market trading as investors instead opted for the safe-haven appeal of Treasurys, the yen and the dollar.
The dollar rose 1.2% against the euro to trade at $1.30; it inched up 0.84% against the British pound to $1.57.
The dollar index -- which tracks the buck against several major rivals -- was up 1%.
