Headlines like this used to knock the hell out of the dollar when it was falling.

Safe, which holds an estimated $630bn of eurozone bonds in its reserves, has expressed concern about its exposure to the five so-called peripheral eurozone markets of Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain.

Any move by Safe would mark a significant change in direction, as Beijing has been trying to diversify away from the US dollar in recent years by buying a greater proportion of assets denominated in other currencies.

Support lies at 1.2180 and 1.2130/40.