The US dollar tumbled against the safe-haven yen Friday amid uncertainty over the fallout from Britain's vote to exit the European Union, while the dollar fell against the euro partly on reduced expectations of a US interest-rate hike this year. While the sterling was last down 0.3 percent at $1.3276, it still hovered above a 31-year low of $1.3122 touched Monday. Analysts said political uncertainty in Britain following the 'Brexit' vote was helping the yen gain.
The dollar was last down 0.6 percent against the yen at 102.66 yen after touching a session low of 102.44 yen in early trading. Former London Mayor Boris Johnson abruptly pulled out of the race to become Britain's prime minister Thursday, a position he was once favoured to win, upending the contest less than a week after he led a campaign to take the country out of the EU. "UK politics are in an absolute shambles right now," said Chris Gaffney, president of EverBank World Markets in St. Louis. The euro was last up 0.2 percent against the dollar at $1.1130 after hitting a one-week high of $1.1168 in morning US trading. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was last down 0.5 percent at 95.708.