The dollar fell to a three-month low against major currencies on Friday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said high unemployment is "a grave concern," reinforcing expectations for further monetary easing to revive growth. Bernanke, speaking at the Kansas City Fed's annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, said the US economy faced "daunting" challenges and that the Fed would act as needed to strengthen the recovery. But he did not explicitly signal an imminent move.
The dollar had briefly pared losses against the euro and yen immediately after Bernanke spoke as he disappointed some investors who had hoped for a clear signal of near-term easing, before resuming declines to hit session lows. The euro rose as high as $1.2636 on Reuters data, the strongest since early July. It was last up 0.6 percent at $1.2574. The dollar fell to a session trough of 78.18 yen, the weakest in more than two weeks. It was last at 78.29, down 0.4 percent on the day.