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Greenback hits fresh low against euro

The US dollar slipped to a fresh all-time low against the euro yesterday in Asia as lingering concerns about the US economy spurred speculation of a near-term rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

The euro hit a record US$1.4739, compared with US$1.4667 late on Thursday in New York and up from the previous record high of US$1.4730 on Wednesday.

The 13-nation currency was quoted at US$1.4726 midafternoon yesterday.

"It's difficult to find favorable factors for the dollar, allowing for fears of a possible economic slowdown and financial uneasiness in the US," said Yuzo Sakai, foreign exchange manager at Tokyo Forex and Ueda Harlow.

"The euro, on the other hand, remains very strong on the back of the inflationary trend in Europe," he said. "Under such circumstances, investors will likely keep buying the euro against the dollar without hesitation."

Against the yen, the US dollar was trading at ?112.62 at 4:50pm yesterday, up from ?112.36 late on Thursday in New York.

Tokyo traders said the euro could climb to US$1.4900 next week because growing pessimism about the world's biggest economy will likely offset caution toward the euro's strength.

At a press conference overnight after the European Central Bank stood pat on policy, President Jean-Claude Trichet said that "brutal" foreign-exchange rates were never welcome.
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