Dollar Falls Against Major Currencies

The dollar fell against major currencies on Monday, hit by weak U.S. manufacturing data and rising oil prices.

Light, sweet crude for July delivery soared to a trading record of 139.89 dollars a barrel before falling back on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday.

The New York Federal Reserve Bank's Empire State Index indicated that manufacturing activity in New York State continued to weaken in June. The index fell to minus 8.7 from minus 3.7 a month earlier, much weaker than a minus 1.5 economists had been expecting.

The dollar was also under pressure as a G8 meeting held in Japan during the weekend yielded no joint statement on currencies. A statement released after the meeting focuses on inflation rather than foreign exchange, deflating expectations of a statement in strong support of the U.S. currency.

The euro bought 1.5489 dollars in late New York trading compared with 1.5354 dollars it bought late Friday. The British pound rose to 1.9635 dollars from 1.9469 dollars.

The dollar fell to 1.0446 Swiss francs from 1.0498 Swiss francs, and fell to 108.12 Japanese yen from 108.21 Japanese yen. It fell to 1.0238 Canadian dollars from 1.0290 Canadian dollars.