WORLD FOREX: Euro Drops Below $1.47 On Flight To Safer Assets

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)-- The dollar climbed further against the euro, pushing the  common currency below $1.47 as investors sold off riskier assets amid renewed concerns about global credit quality. As U.S. stocks fell deeper into the red, the dollar hit a series of intraday highs against its major rivals. The greenback rose to one-month highs against the euro and a basket of currencies.

Disappointing euro-zone economic data, a downgrade of Greece's debt and a warning that the U.K. and U.S. could face their own debt downgrades have hurt a string of risk-sensitive currencies, including the euro, the Swedish krona, the Canadian dollar, the Mexican peso and the Australian dollar, as well as the U.K. pound.

Tuesday afternoon, the euro was at $1.4700 from $1.4818. The dollar was at Y88.32 from Y89.52, while the euro was at Y129.85 from Y132.65. The U.K. pound was at $1.6265 from $1.6435. The dollar was at CHF1.0281 from CHF1.0195.

The Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of currencies, was at 76.252 from 75.777.

"People are getting a little unsettled about what's going on in Europe," said Win Thin, senior currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman in New York.

"The big quake is over, but we're still going to see some aftershocks, which is all sort of feeding into a bit of the risk-off, flight to safety," he said.

Moody's Investors Service warned Tuesday that the U.K. and the U.S. need to rein in their deficits in order to hold onto their triple-A credit ratings. Ratings agency Fitch downgraded Greece Tuesday to BBB+, outlook negative, after issuing a ratings warning Monday.

Moody's also downgraded the credit worthiness of a raft of Dubai government-controlled companies, citing a lack of government support over the emirate's debt obligations. The downgrade comes in the wake of the Dubai World debt crisis, and weighed on risk appetite.

By Fabio Alves, Dow Jones Newswires