1st LD Writethru: U.S. dollar slumps against yen amid declining oil

The U.S. dollar fell to 15-month low against the Japanese yen as the declining oil prices raised market demand for safe-haven currencies.

Oil prices extended losses on Monday, with the U.S. crude settling bellow 30 U.S. dollars a barrel again, as market expected the global supplies to exceed the demand.

The yen, one of the major safe-haven assets, rose nearly 1 percent to its highest level against the greenback since November 2014. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was down 0.38 percent at 96.667 in late trading.

With no major data came out Monday, investors were also digesting the closely-watched nonfarm payroll issued Friday.

The U.S. Department of Labor reported Friday that total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 151,000 in January, well below market expectation of 188,000.

The unemployment rate, however, edged down to 4.9 percent in January, dipping below 5 percent for the first time since 2008.

In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.1198 dollars from 1.1142 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound decreased to 1.4425 dollars from 1.4499 U.S. dollars in the previous session. The Australian dollar inched up to 0.7080 dollar from 0.7070 dollar.

The U.S. dollar bought 115.34 Japanese yen, lower than 116.93 yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar fell to 0.9861 Swiss franc from 0.9918 Swiss franc, and it climbed to 1.3952 Canadian dollars from 1.3893 Canadian dollars. Endit