The dollar and the yen fell against their major counterparts yesterday (August 19th), as crude oil prices rose in New York and London and equity markets rebounded.A rally US commodities and equity markets was driven by the release of data from the Energy Information Administration which showed an unexpected drop in crude oil inventories last week, an event which strengthened the case for demand recovery.Oil inventories - along with heating oil, propane and gasoline stocks - have soared since the onset of the financial crisis as consumer, commercial and industrial demand for fuels has plummeted.TJ Marta, chief market strategist at Marta on the Markets, said that the dollar and yen had risen on risk aversion sparked by the fall in Chinese stocks earlier in the week.He added: "There are concerns that the Chinese market could prove a harbinger for global stocks and economies and so risk-averse sentiment has been reflected around the globe and across asset classes." This morning, Asian stocks have responded positively to the US rally and have moved upwards sharply, with Japan's Nikkei climbing 1.8 per cent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng adding 1.9 per cent.