Comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke have heightened investor worries about a weakening U.S. economy, driving the dollar lower against two other safe-haven currencies, the yen and Swiss franc, AP reported. But the dollar gained against currencies of countries that have higher interest rates such as the euro and Canadian and Australian dollars. Those currencies can benefit when investors are bullish and willing to make riskier bets. In morning trading Wednesday in New York, the euro slipped to $1.4628 from $1.4695. The British pound fell to $1.6374 from $1.6451. But the dollar dropped to 79.85 Japanese yen from 80.19. Bernanke says that higher gas prices and the Japanese crisis have hurt the U.S. economy, but expects the hit will be temporary. A slowdown in the U.S., the world's biggest economy, could hurt other countries. -- SPA
