The safe-haven yen and dollar rose on Wednesday, as investors sought refuge in these currencies in the wake of dire global economic numbers.
The yen rose to a seven-week high against the dollar and a 3-1/2-peak versus the euro. The dollar rose to its highest in more than a week against a basket of major currencies.
Manufacturing data in the euro zone and the UK painted a bleak picture, undermining the single European currency and sterling.
US private payrolls data also showed a record of more than 20 million jobs lost in April as shown the ADP National Employment Report, but the dollar held gains.
"We had some weak data out of Europe and the UK manufacturing data was also pretty poor, similar to the US numbers," said Shaun Osborne, chief FX strategist, at Scotiabank in Toronto.
In late morning trading, the dollar index rose 0.3% to 100.100, climbing earlier to a more than one-week high of 100.200.
Against the yen, the dollar fell 0.4% to 106.11 yen, after dropping to a seven-week low of 106.06 yen.
The euro was down 0.3% against the dollar at 1.0802, hitting a nearly two-week low. It resumed its decline after a court decision challenged German participation in the euro zone's stimulus programme.
The fact that speculators are now long the euro also undermines its current levels, analysts said. Leveraged funds have trimmed their long positions on the euro, but the number of longs is still close to their two-year highs.
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