By Lisa Twaronite, MarketWatch TOKYO (MarketWatch) — The dollar fell to a fresh four-month low against the Japanese yen and dropped against the euro Friday, after the U.S. House Republican leadership late Thursday cancelled plans to vote on a plan to lift the U.S. debt ceiling. The dollar index DXY -0.04% , which tracks the U.S. unit’s performance against a basket of six other currencies, fell to 74.081 from 74.210 in late North American trading Thursday. Against Japan’s yen, the dollar USDJPY -0.24% stood at ¥77.55, down from ¥77.77 late Thursday. It fell as low as ¥77.46 earlier, its lowest level since its all-time record nadir of ¥76.25 was hit on March 17. The euro EURUSD -.00% rose to $1.4346 from $1.4313 late Thursday. See real-time currency quotes and tools. The cancellation came because the bill put forth by Speaker John Boehner was at risk of being rejected by conservative members. Read more on debt-vote cancellation. If lawmakers fail to agree on a plan before the Aug. 2 deadline, the U.S. faces the risk of a sovereign downgrade, if it defaults on its debt obligations. Read about how the dollar could rise if there's no debt deal. Some strategists say that would initially cause the greenback to rise. “The immediate effect of the potential U.S. downgrade would be one in which risk aversion increases and liquidity decreases, both of which support” the U.S. dollar, said analysts at Barclays Capital. “However, [given] the fact that this is a U.S.-driven risk, the USD will likely lag other safe-haven currencies,” such as the yen and Swiss franc, they said. Against the Swiss franc, the dollar USDCHF -0.10% bought 79.99 centimes, down from 80.15 centimes late Thursday. There are 100 centimes in a Swiss franc. The British pound GBPUSD -0.20% rose to $1.6354 from $1.6334 late Thursday. The Australian dollar AUDUSD -0.32% changed hands at $1.0980, compared with $1.0986 late Thursday. Lisa Twaronite is MarketWatch's Tokyo bureau chief.

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