Haven currencies reverse gains against dollar Traditional haven currencies reversed gains on Tuesday, with the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc sliding following heavy demand the previous week amid uncertainty over the outlook for the global economy. The dollar rose 1.3 per cent against the yen to Y102.30 while the euro gained 1.1 per cent to Y132. The dollar gained 0.7 per cent against the franc to SFr0.9706 and the euro rose 0.5 per cent to SFr1.2524. Many market participants said they saw the strength in the yen and the franc during the previous week as a temporary correction rather than a longer-term trend. Stephen Jen, head of currency hedge fund SLJ Macro Partners, wrote in a note to clients: "I see this correction as an acute version of many similar corrections we have seen in the dollar-yen, all of which were followed by even more powerful rallies to set new highs." The US currency was generally stronger against other major counterparts ahead of housing data for March that were expected to show the sector was returning to health, while consumer confidence in May was expected to be firmer than the previous month. The dollar index, which weighs the US currency against a basket of major counterparts, rose 0.3 per cent to trade at 84. Analysts were divided over the impact of positive US data on the dollar, however. The dollar has been unusually correlated with positive signs on the US economy this year as growth prospects have looked better than those of other large developed economies. Yet analysts at Morgan Stanley argued that good figures could make it more likely that the Federal Reserve would slow its bond-buying scheme, leading to uncertainty over the effect of the reduction in global liquidity. The dollar was volatile last week after it emerged that Fed members had considered tapering their bond purchases as early as next month. In emerging markets, the Israeli shekel pared losses after the Bank of Israel on Monday cut interest rates for the second time in as many weeks in its efforts to weaken its currency, whose strength is affecting the export-based economy. The dollar fell 0.3 per cent to Shk3.7041 on Tuesday.