1st LD Writethru: U.S. dollar falls against yen on safe-haven demand

The U.S. dollar declined against the Japanese yen Monday as investors' demand for safe-haven assets went up amid waning global equity markets.

Overseas, Chinese shares slumped Monday as investors unnerved by weak economic data dumped their shares to lock in profits following last week's rally, sinking the benchmark index into the worst single-day loss in eight years.

The yen rose 0.44 percent against the greenback and traded at 123.24 in late trading.

The euro increased more than 1 percent against the U.S. dollar in late trading, as economic data from Germany came out better than expected.

The Ifo Business Climate Index for German trade and industry rose to 108 in July from 107.5 last month, the Munich-based data firm Ifo said Monday. The latest reading beat market consensus of 107.2 and was at levels consistent with a positive pace of growth.

The U.S. dollar fell against most major currencies Monday. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major currencies, was down 0.71 percent to 96.553 in late trading.

In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.1097 dollars from 1.0980 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound hiked to 1.5559 dollars from 1.5511 U.S. dollars in the previous session. The Australian dollar increased to 0.7282 U.S. dollar from 0.7278 dollar.

The U.S. dollar bought 123.24 Japanese yen, lower than 123.75 yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar rose to 0.9631 Swiss franc from 0.9627 Swiss franc and inched down to 1.3031 Canadian dollars from 1.3068 Canadian dollars. Endite