Dollar sinks on fears over US economy
Tuesday, 23 October 2007
TOKYO, Oct 22 (AFP): The dollar suffered fresh losses against the yen and hit a record low against the euro in Asian trade today as concerns about the US economy sparked another rout on global stock markets, dealers said.
The euro shot higher after top world finance chiefs refrained from voicing increased concern about currencies at their meeting Friday, which dealers took as a green light to drive the greenback down to fresh lows.
The dollar fell to 114.06 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade from 114.53 in New York late Friday as speculators unwound risky "carry trade" bets that involve selling the Japanese currency to buy higher-return assets.
The euro rose to as high as 1.4347 dollars before easing back to 1.4323 by mid-afternoon trade here. The euro fell to 163.34 yen from 163.76.
The dollar dropped to as low as 113.27 yen as the renewed falls on global stock markets undermined investor risk appetite and prompted an unwinding of carry trades, dealers said.
The Group of Seven finance chiefs said the functioning of financial markets was improving after recent market upheavals, and refrained from voicing increased concern about currencies.
"The G7 turned out to be very cautious about the present economic and market situation, but they failed to send a strong message," said chief forex strategist at Sumitomo Trust Bank.
The dollar declined to 1.4642 Singapore dollars from 1.4643 Friday, to 32.579 Taiwan dollars from 32.650 and to 31.45 Thai baht from 31.47.
The greenback rose to 917.45 South Korean won from 914.60, to 44.28 Philippine pesos from 43.630 and to 9,116.5 Indonesian rupiah from 9,090.00.
The euro shot higher after top world finance chiefs refrained from voicing increased concern about currencies at their meeting Friday, which dealers took as a green light to drive the greenback down to fresh lows.
The dollar fell to 114.06 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade from 114.53 in New York late Friday as speculators unwound risky "carry trade" bets that involve selling the Japanese currency to buy higher-return assets.
The euro rose to as high as 1.4347 dollars before easing back to 1.4323 by mid-afternoon trade here. The euro fell to 163.34 yen from 163.76.
The dollar dropped to as low as 113.27 yen as the renewed falls on global stock markets undermined investor risk appetite and prompted an unwinding of carry trades, dealers said.
The Group of Seven finance chiefs said the functioning of financial markets was improving after recent market upheavals, and refrained from voicing increased concern about currencies.
"The G7 turned out to be very cautious about the present economic and market situation, but they failed to send a strong message," said chief forex strategist at Sumitomo Trust Bank.
The dollar declined to 1.4642 Singapore dollars from 1.4643 Friday, to 32.579 Taiwan dollars from 32.650 and to 31.45 Thai baht from 31.47.
The greenback rose to 917.45 South Korean won from 914.60, to 44.28 Philippine pesos from 43.630 and to 9,116.5 Indonesian rupiah from 9,090.00.