Dollar falls against yen, euro in Asia

The dollar dipped against the euro in Asia Monday to its lowest level in almost two months, and it also fell against the yen as market sentiments turned sour toward the dollar.

Photo: Dollar falls against yen, euro in Asia

The euro temporarily hit US$1.3199, its strongest since US$1.3291 Jan. 3, mainly on speculative trading. The euro was trading at US$1.3180 midafternoon, up from US$1.3162. The dollar also fell against the yen to 120.98 yen from 121.04 yen late Friday in New York.

Weighing on the dollar were renewed concerns about tensions over Iran's nuclear program, expectations for a sharp downward revision in fourth-quarter U.S. economic growth and falling long-term U.S. interest rates, said Hideaki Inoue, chief foreign-exchange manager at Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking.

"Psychologically, those who have tilted their positions want to close off their positions," he said.

Traders said the dollar's fall against the yen came from a repatriation of overseas investments by Japanese investors preparing to close their books at the end of the fiscal year in March. Selling by Japanese exporters also drove down the dollar.

The market is now looking to revised U.S. gross domestic product data for October-December, due later this week, for clues on U.S. monetary policy. Economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires expect a downward revision to 2.2 percent growth from the initial 3.5 percent, reports AP.

The dollar was mostly higher against other regional currencies, climbing to 48.165 Philippine pesos from 47.900 the previous session, and 938.6 South Korean won from 938.0, while slipping to 9,068 Indonesian rupiah from 9,080.