The resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak spurred risk aversion sentiment and pushed up the Canadian dollar that was also bolstered by Canada’s unexpected trade balance surplus today.

The US dollar extended its gains against most other major currencies today as Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigned and handed power to the military, increasing concerns about the political situation in Egypt and spurring demand for safety.

The South African rand dropped to the lowest level in more than five months on the worries that Egyptian crisis will intensify and as the global inflationary pressure increases.

The Taiwan dollar slumped today as the nation’s stock index dropped to the lowest level in five months, slowing the rapid appreciation of the currency.

The Canadian dollar fell against its US counterpart, but advanced versus most other actively traded currencies, as the economic recovery in North America increased the attractiveness of the currency for the investors.

The US dollar strengthened against most of its major counterpart after the report showed today that the number of unemployment claims in the US dropped significantly last week, despite Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’ prediction of higher unemployment.

The Australian dollar declined today after the report showed that full-time employment of the Australians decreased in January, causing the speculation that Australia’s economy doesn’t grow fast enough to warrant an increase of the interest rates.

The Great Britain pound strengthened against the euro and fell versus the US dollar after the Bank of England decided today to leave the interest rates and its program of asset purchases unchanged today.

The healthy shape of the global economy prompts the investors to sell the Japanese yen in favor of the riskier assets, driving the currency down.

The New Zealand dollar slid today as Bill English, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, said that the nation’s economy may slip back to recession in the second half of this year.