2010.09.1316:23:00UTC+00No Relief For Weary Dollar, Near 15-year Low Against Yen

The dollar came under pressure on Monday, after financial authorities hammered out a set of reforms to the global banking system.

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision's new requirements for bank capital reserves were less stringent than some had expected, driving bank stocks higher. The reforms will be phased in over the next eight years, giving banks more time to accumulate profits.

The buck dropped back toward last week's 15-year low against the yen, and hit a weekly low versus the euro, which was boosted by renewed risk appetite.

On a day bereft of economic data from the US, traders were treated to more clues about health of the European economy.

The euro area recovery is gathering momentum, particularly in Germany, the European Commission said today. The EC's growth projection for the euro area was revised upwards to 1.7 percent from an intial prediction of 0.9 percent.

The buck dropped to $1.2880 versus the euro, down more than 2 cents from Friday. Still, the pair has shown little direction over the past few months, and the buck is likely to receive considerable support at around 1.2900.

The dollar fell sharply versus the yen in late morning dealing, coming within a hair of its recent 15-year low of Y83.33 before heading slightly higher.

Against the sterling, the dollar continued to wobble around $1.5400, unable to break out of a stubborn recent trading range.

Focus shifts back to the US economy for the remainder of the week, as a litany of key data points will shed light on inflation, consumer sentiment, manufacturing and jobless claims.

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