U.S. Dollar Slides as Investors Run to Safety

Against six major currencies measured by the dollar index, the U.S. dollar fell to 78.159, dropping from the 79.149 it stood on late Tuesday.

The British pound, as well as Swiss franc increased by 2 percent against the greenback, with sterling buying $1.8218, a significant increase over the late Tuesday price of $1.7800, while the dollar traded against the Swiss franc at 1.0993, down from 1.1035.

The euro was also up strongly, as it came in at $1.4325, in contrast to Tuesday's $1.4091.

Against the yen the dollar also fell, last standing at 104.55 yen, down from 105.33 later on Tuesday.

Besides the obvious flight from equities, gold futures also put the pressure on because they are denominated in U.S. dollars.