The firmer tone of the dollar helped trigger a move away from riskier assets as concerns about Chinese growth spurred traders to reduce the massive level of bets against the US currency.
The release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting at mid-afternoon in New York reversed selling in US equities, as they showed a majority of policy makers are leaning towards further asset purchases by the US central bank.
The dollar bounced off a nine-month trade-weighted low and government bonds rallied as global equities, industrial commodities and credit indices retreated. Gold eased below $1,350 an ounce, well off a record high of $1,364.60 struck on Friday.