Greenback Gets Hammered

Updated from 9:35 a.m. EST

The U.S. dollar was getting hammered Wednesday and sinking to a new all-time low against the euro after a Chinese official said his nation might start moving more of its foreign currency holdings away from the greenback.

Recently, the euro was worth $1.4691, up nearly 1% from $1.4552 in the prior session. Thus far this year, the European common currency has gained 11% on its American rival.

"The market is likely to see this [news from China] as an indication that the pace of reserve diversification might be increasing," notes a recent research report from the foreign-exchange team at Barclays Capital in London. ...