Dollar slips

TOKYO: The dollar fell against the yen and Swiss franc on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump´s threats of additional tariffs on China escalated a trade spat between the world´s two largest economies in a worrying sign for global growth prospects.

China´s yuan fell to a more than 5-month low to the dollar, despite a firmer official yuan midpoint, as market sentiment soured.

The Japanese yen climbed 0.8 percent against the dollar to 109.64 yen, its highest level in a week, after Trump threatened to impose a 10 percent tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods, ratcheting up a trade dispute with Beijing.

Another perceived safe haven during market turmoil, the Swiss franc, also got a boost from the news.

It was up as much as 0.3 percent against the dollar to 0.9915 franc.

China´s commerce ministry said Beijing will fight back firmly with "qualitative" and "quantitative" measures if the United States publishes an additional list of tariffs on Chinese goods, accusing Washington of launching a trade war.

The yuan slid to a low of 6.4490 to the dollar at one point, its weakest since Jan. 15. Investors and businesses worry that a full-blown trade battle could derail global growth.