NEW YORK, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- The dollar rose against major currencies Tuesday as investors' risk appetite was hurt by comments from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.
In a speech in London, Bernanke supported the use of further fiscal stimuli to support the economy, but said that would not be enough to bring the economy back to health and Wall Street may need additional bailouts.
"Fiscal policy can stimulate economic activity, but a sustained recovery will also require a comprehensive plan to stabilize the financial system and restore normal flows of credit," he said.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Commerce Department reported a fall in both imports and exports of goods and services in November. Exports shrank by 5.9 percent and imports by 1.2 percent, while the trade deficit tumbled by 28.7 percent to its lowest level in five years.
A narrowing trade deficit is good news in some ways, but the key message of the report is bad news, analysts said. It added to worries over the economic outlook as U.S. international trade contracts sharply in the global recession.
The euro bought 1.3177 dollars in late New York trading compared with 1.3395 dollars it bought late Monday. The pound fell to 1.4493 dollars from 1.4843 dollars.
The dollar rose from 1.2148 to 1.2267 Canadian dollars, and to 89.13 Japanese yen from 89.07. It also rose from 1.1131 to 1.1197 Swiss francs.
