LONDON, Feb 3 - The euro gained one percent on the day versus the dollar on Tuesday, while the greenback also fell one percent on the Swiss franc amid a broader market retreat from the U.S. currency ahead of the Group of Seven meeting. Major currencies have been stuck in choppy trading conditions for several sessions now in the run-up to meeting of G7 finance ministers on Friday and Saturday.
But market sentiment for the dollar was hit on Tuesday by news that deadly poison ricin was found in a U.S. Senate office building in Washington and due to growing speculation that the G7 will not put a floor underneath the battered dollar. "Ricin is certainly one factor obviously because of renewed geopolitical issues. But a major factor is speculation that the G7 will not be able to stem the dollar's decline," said Ryan Shea, senior international economist at Bank One in London. By 0810 GMT, the euro rose as high as $1.2568 from the previous day's closing levels around $1.2420. The dollar fell to 1.2468 francs per dollar.//