Dollar rises on European concern

The U.S. dollar rose against most major currencies in late New York trading on Monday as the soaring Italy and Spain's borrowing costs worried investors and hurt the euro. The auction of Italian five-year government bonds on Monday produced a yield of 6.29 percent, a sharp rise in borrowing costs from a 5.32 percent yield in the sale of the same issue last month and the highest cost for Italy since the euro's inception. The result hurt investors'confidence on the country and raised concerns about Italy's financing ability. The euro was hit by the news and tumbled 1.26 percent against the dollar on Monday. Also, some analysts noted that Spain's 10-year note yields topped 6 percent for the first time since early August, suggesting the borrowing costs of Spain also rose due to concerns of the country's debt problems. The dollar, which is widely accepted as safe-haven currency, was boosted by risk-aversion appetite on Monday. The dollar index rose 0.64 percent to 77.44. In late Monday trading, the dollar bought 77.12 Japanese yen, comparing with 77.17 from late Friday. The euro fell to 1.3616 dollars from 1.3747. The British pound also fell to 1.5898 dollars from 1.6060. The dollar rose from 0.9021 Swiss francs to 0.9076, and also rose to 1. 0174 Canadian dollars from 1.0133.