The dollar fell off 13-year highs against the yen on Monday after a wire service report, denied by President Barack Obama, that claimed to cite remarks by him on the greenback's strength. The euro climbed more than 1 percent to top $1.12 against the dollar, lifted by a rise in German bund yields and solid German data that stoked optimism about the euro zone's economic prospects.
Obama and White House officials denied a Bloomberg report Monday, citing an unnamed French official, that he had said the strong dollar was "a problem" in conversation at the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Germany. "I did not say that and I make it a practice of not commenting on the daily fluctuations of the dollar or any other currency," Obama told a news conference.
Despite the denials, currency investors were wary as Federal Reserve and other US officials have, over the past few months, expressed concerns about the impact of a robust greenback on growth and exports. The dollar was last off 0.4 percent at 125.12 yen, having hit a 13-year high of 125.86 yen on Friday after a rosy US jobs report.
The dollar index was down 0.70 percent. "The dollar is off this morning because of the (wire service) headline about a strong dollar from Obama," said Alvin Tan, currency strategist at Societe Generale. The euro also rose strongly against sterling and yen , helped by the rise in benchmark German bund yields and better-than-expected industrial output figures showing a 0.9 percent increase in Germany during April. The euro was last up nearly 1 percent against sterling and 0.70 percent against Japan's currency. Turkey's lira dropped 3.6 percent to 2.7590 to the dollar, paring some of its earlier losses when it hit a record low of 2.8094.