* Yen gains as riskier trades unwound on swine flu worries
* Dollar climbs vs Aussie, kiwi and euro
* Mexican peso falls 2 percent vs dollar
By Charlotte Cooper
TOKYO, April 27 (Reuters) - The yen and the dollar rose on
Monday and the Mexican peso fell on concern about the spread of
swine flu, which has killed 103 people in Mexico and infected
people in the United States and Canada.
The World Health Organisation declared the flu a "public
health emergency of international concern" that could become a
global outbreak of serious disease. []
The Mexican peso fell 2 percent against the dollar in Asian
trade, although Mexican Finance Minister Agustin Carstens tried
to reassure markets, saying the impact on the economy would be
"transitory". [].
The dollar fell to its lowest in a month against the Japanese
currency but climbed against the Australian and New Zealand
dollars and against the euro.
Analysts said investors were unwinding positions in
currencies such as that of New Zealand, where a teacher was being
treated for flu-like symptoms, and were cautious about the
economic impact on travel and transport.
"Swine flu is centre stage. The Aussie and kiwi are hit hard.
There is general risk aversion with concerns about the possible
spread to other countries," said Masafumi Yamamoto, head of FX
strategy Japan at Royal Bank of Scotland.
The peso weakened past 13.60 per dollar <MXN=> <MEX01> from a
close of 13.284 pesos on Friday and Yamamoto said it would face
further pressure later in the day when U.S. trading begins.
The dollar fell to 96.62 yen <JPY=>, its lowest in a month,
before edging back to 96.75 yen, down 0.4 percent on the day. But
it rose 0.4 percent against a basket of currencies to 85.071
<.DXY>.
RISK AND RATES
The Australian dollar fell 1.3 percent to $0.7135 <AUD=D4>.
Australia said it would strengthen its border surveillance
for swine flu. For wrapup see []
Takahide Nagasaki, chief FX strategist at Daiwa Securities
SMBC in Tokyo, said the market needed to see the extent of the
outbreak and its overall impact before any judgments could be
made on the broader market effect.
"What needs to be watched going forward is the kind of impact
the outbreak will have on North American trade and the movement
of people," Nagasaki said.
The New Zealand dollar lost 1.2 percent to $0.5650 <NZD=D4>,
pressured both by swine flu worries and caution ahead of a rate
decision from the central bank on Thursday.
The central bank is expected to cut its rates to a record low
of 2.5 percent this week and signal that rates will not be raised
for a while. [].
The Aussie fell more than 1 percent versus the yen <AUDJPY=R>
and the kiwi dropped 0.6 percent to 54.66 yen <NZDJPY=R>.
The euro fell 1 percent to 127.47 yen <EURJPY=> and shed 0.5
percent to $1.3170 <EUR=>.
European Central Bank governing council member Axel Weber was
quoted in a newspaper as saying cutting the central bank's main
refinancing rate to 1 percent was appropriate. The rate is 1.25
percent at the moment. [].
The market was also watching restructuring efforts by
struggling U.S. automakers. Worries about the future of Chrysler
weighed on the dollar on Friday, when it fell against the euro
and yen after news of improved business sentiment in Germany.
Chrysler LLC, given until April 30 to agree deals with
creditors and unions and cement an alliance with Fiat <FIA.MI>,
showed signs of progress with its unionised workers, giving the
dollar a brief lift against the yen in early trade.
[].
News from a meeting of world finance leaders in Washington at
the weekend was overshadowed by the swine flu concerns.
The finance leaders agreed there was a "break in the clouds"
of the economic storm but said more measures were needed to
ensure an end to the global recession.
A statement from the International Monetary and Financial
Committee of the IMF said more action was needed to restore the
health of banks and revive lending. []
(Additional reporting by Shinichi Saoshiro and Satomi Noguchi;
Editing by Michael Watson)
