"Given that the "Trump trade" is one of the main reasons the market has been able to break records of late, it is understandable that the scandal engulfing the USA government would be of some concern to investors", said Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex, in a note. Against the euro, the pound jumped 0.8% to 1.171. Losses for the loonie came even as prices of oil, one of Canada's major exports, climbed.
A drop in global oil prices that went along with weaker stock markets hurt commodities-linked currencies including the Canadian dollar CAD= and the Norwegian crown NOK= down by 0.3 and 0.7 percent respectively against the greenback.
The dollar fell by as much as 1.35% against the yen, blowing through the 112 yen level to 111.57 yen. Some softness in recent inflation data is also increasing the odds the Federal Reserve slows its rate hike pace this year.
Wall Street was 0.2 percent lower in early NY business, adding to Wednesday's sharp sell-off.
Brent crude gained 1.1 percent to settle at $52.21 per barrel, while USA light crude rose 0.8 percent to settle at $49.07.
USD/JPY is supported around 110.57 levels and now trading at 110.94 levels.
Until now, the US stock market has barely budged on news surrounding Trump's murky relationship with Russian Federation.
Stocks fell sharply, however, in reaction to reports that the president asked former FBI director James Comey to drop the federal investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn's ties with Russian Federation.
Investors had already begun to doubt Trump's ability to get a divided U.S. Congress to support his promised policy steps. The U.S. dollar recovered someground against the Japanese yen on Thursday as stronger-than-expected U.S. economic data soothed nerves a day after U.S. biggest selloff in more than eight months.
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Within the bodies of each mouse, explained Woodruff, the structure had become "a functionalized soft-organ transplant". Research from Northwestern University has showcased the ability to 3D print functioning ovaries.
KEEPING SCORE: In Europe, Germany's DAX was down 0.3 percent at 12,768 while the CAC 40 in France fell 0.4 percent to 5,387.
"Investors now believe that at a minimum the rising United States political entropy will jeopardise the White House policy agenda, and at the extreme, a Trump impeachment will lead to a flat out market collapse", said Stephen Innes, a senior trader at forex firm OANDA.
Yen's dominant market performance has been pushing Asian stocks to the brink, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index suffered a loss of about 0.19%, while the mainland stock, Shanghai Composite loses 0.26% at 3104.74 at 8.22 points; on the other hand, the Shenzhen Composite was surprisingly up by 0.13% at 1867.68 or 2.42 points.
Prices of bonds, seen as safe-haven assets, rallied, while yields were on track for their biggest daily percentage drops since July.
Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed sales were up by 4% compared with April last year, exceeding forecasts of 1% monthly growth and 2% year-on-year.
The euro hit its highest level since November 7, while prices of gold hit a one-month high. The S&P 500 was briefly on track for its worst day since September 13, but pared some of those losses to put it on track for its biggest daily fall in about two months.
Spot gold was at $1,260 an ounce having hit $1,263.02, its highest since May 1 the previous session.
"While there is no particular headline behind the move, a likely combination of slipping USA yields, softer oil prices and heightened political uncertainty in Washington are providing traders with this morning's toxic dollar elixir".
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