Early trade in New York: dollar skids versus Swiss franc

The dollar hit a record low against the Swiss franc and a 4-1/2 month trough versus the yen on Monday as optimism about the US evading a default were swiftly outweighed by fears about the government's fiscal condition. Republican and Democratic lawmakers were expected to vote later in the day on a White House-backed deal to raise the US borrowing limit and avert an unprecedented debt default.
The dollar fell as low as 76.290 on trading platform EBS, its weakest since co-ordinated intervention by major central banks in mid-March to weaken the surging Japanese currency. The greenback was last at 76.58 yen, down 0.2 percent and not far from the all-time trough of 76.25 yen. Against the Swiss franc, the dollar slid to 0.77525 franc on trading platform EBS, a record low. The euro also fell to a session low of $1.4240. down 1.1 percent on the day. The euro also plumbed a fresh low at 1.11990 Swiss francs.