Cyprus fears push euro lower against dollar
Euro falls as lawmakers in Cyprus vote down an unpopular bailout plan demanded by Europe
NEW YORK (AP) -- The euro fell to a three-month low against the dollar after lawmakers in Cyprus rejected an unpopular plan that would seize up to 10 percent of people's savings.
The rejection puts the country's $12.9 billion bailout at risk. Cyprus needed to approve the plan in order to receive the international bailout. Without the funds from its European neighbors and the International Monetary Fund, the small Mediterranean island nation could go bankrupt.
The euro fell to $1.2875 in late trading Tuesday from $1.2948 late Monday. The euro fell as low as $1.2842 earlier, its lowest point against the dollar since Nov. 22.
Part of the original plan was to take up to 10 percent of people's saving from Cypriot banks. The plan was unpopular because investors worried that savers will start taking their money out of banks across Europe and possibly reignite Europe's debt crisis.
In other trading, the British pound rose to $1.5105 from $1.5099.
The dollar fell to 95.09 Japanese yen from 95.42 Japanese yen.
The dollar rose to 0.9478 Swiss franc from 0.9456 Swiss franc and to 1.0275 Canadian dollar from 1.0217 Canadian dollar.
