US Dollar rises on "fiscal cliff" concerns

The US dollar rose against most of major currencies on Friday as demand for safe heaven assets increased on fears that U.S. lawmakers may fail to avoid the so- called "fiscal cliff." US House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said on Friday the withdrawn vote on "Plan B" was not the outcome he wanted and U.S. President Barack Obama must keep working with Congress on avoiding the "fiscal cliff." Late on Thursday, Boehner abandoned attempts to pass the "Plan B" tax bill when he failed to muster enough votes in his own party, paring earlier hopes that the gap between the two parties had narrowed. Investors remained cautious before a deal is reached and increased positions in the dollar and the yen. Economic statistics released on Friday favored the dollar. Both personal income and consumption in the U.S. rose in November, said the Commerce Department. In addition, new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods rose by 0.7 percent in November from the previous month. In Europe, Italy's Prime Minister Mario Monti resigned on Friday after parliament gave final approval to 2013 budget law. However, his resignation still weighed on the euro on speculations that austerity reforms he initiated would be interrupted. In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.3176 dollars from 1.3240 dollars of the previous session and the British pound dropped to 1.6160 dollars from 1.6284. The dollar slightly rose to 0.9180 Swiss francs from 0.9119 and went up to 0.9942 Canadian dollars from 0.9873. The dollar bought 84.23 Japanese yen, lower than 84.43 in the previous session.