U.S. dollar falls against yen but rises against euro, pound

NEW YORK, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. dollar fell against the yen and the Swiss franc, but rises slightly against the euro and the pound on Monday as investors worried that the crisis of U.S. financial sector would hit global economy.
U.S. stocks fell sharply on Monday after Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy and Merrill Lynch agreed to be taken over by Bank of America. The Dow Jones industrial average lost more than 500 points, its steepest point drop after the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001.
The dollar tumbled in Asian and European trading before climbing back. Investors took the greenback as a safe-haven currency against the euro and the pound on concerns over shock wave of the meltdown in U.S. finance systems. Low yielding currencies, the yen and the Swiss franc, rose against the dollar on risk aversion.
Investors are focusing on the Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting to be held on Tuesday. The U.S. central bank has been widely expected to keep key rate unchanged. But the news about Lehman Brothers left many analysts thinking the Fed would have to cut rate this week.
The euro bought 1.4196 dollars in late New York trading compared with 1.4215 dollars it bought late Friday. The British pound fell to 1.7902 dollars from 1.7937 dollars.
The dollar fell to 1.1191 Swiss francs from 1.1319 Swiss francs, and fell to 105.76 Japanese yen from 107.76 Japanese yen. It rose to 1.0688 Canadian dollars from 1.0606 Canadian dollars.