Dollar falls amid rising risk appetite

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

NEW YORK, Mar. 16 (Chinese media) -- The dollar fell against most major currencies on Monday as investors' risk appetite rose on positive news.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Sunday that U.S. economy would probably recover from recession next year if the government's program to rescue the banking industry succeeds.

U.S. economy has averted the risk of depression similar to the Great Depression in 1930s, Bernanke said. His comments helped to ease fears on a depression, boosting market sentiment.

Investors were also cheered by a joint statement from G20 financial ministers who met in U.K. on Friday and Saturday. The statement pledged to whatever necessary to ease the economic downturn.

"We are committed to taking decisive action, where needed, and to use all available tools to restore the full functioning of financial markets, and in particular to underpin the flow of credit, both domestically and globally," the statement said.

The pound rose after Barclays, one of the largest bank in U.K., said on Monday that its business "continue to perform well and have had a strong start to 2009". It was the latest of a series of encouraging reports from major financial institutions, including Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase.

The euro bought 1.2981 dollars in late New York trading compared with 1.2898 dollars it bought late Friday. The pound rose to 1.4085 dollars from 1.3970 dollars.

The dollar fell to 1.2688 Canadian dollars from 1.2747 Canadian dollars, and fell to 1.1863 Swiss francs from 1.1890 Swiss francs. It rose to 98.27 Japanese yen from 98.04 Japanese yen.