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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TideGlider who wrote (661548)	11/19/2004 8:52:35 AM
From: Kenneth E. Phillipps	Respond to of 769670

Dollar Back Toward Record Lows Vs. Euro Fri Nov 19, 2004 08:14 AM ET By Carolyn Cohn LONDON (Reuters) - The dollar dropped to within half a cent of this week's record low against the euro and hit 7-1/2-month lows on the yen on Friday as traders took the view that world finance chiefs would not try to slow the dollar's slide. Finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 meet in Berlin later on Friday and are expected to have difficulty reaching a common position on currencies, particularly after U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow said this week that market intervention was "non-rewarding at best." European and Japanese policymakers, however, are voicing growing concern over the damage to exports from the dollar's rapid decline. "There is a tendency to sell the dollar into any rallies," said Aziz McMahon, currency strategist at ABN AMRO. "The meetings of finance officials are not likely to yield any results." The euro rose as far as $1.3041 and was trading at $1.3020 at 1235 GMT, half a percent up from the U.S. close, and compared with record highs of $1.3074 set on Thursday. The dollar also fell half a percent against the yen to 7-1/2-month lows of 103.59 and approached its lowest in nearly nine years against the Swiss franc. MEETINGS, MEETINGS, MEETINGS In addition to the G20 meeting, the market was also waiting for any comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet and Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Kazumasa Iwata, who are due to take part in a discussion on the "Euro in Wider Circles" at a conference at 1330 GMT in Frankfurt. Speculation that China will revalue its currency, a move that would boost the yen and other Asian currencies, has also hit the dollar in recent days. Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economic leaders meet in Santiago this weekend. President Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao will hold bilateral talks on the sidelines of APEC. "I don't think anything new will be said -- China will reiterate it wants to move to a more flexible currency regime but it will not give a timetable," said Bilal Hafeez, foreign exchange strategist at Deutsche Bank. VERBAL INTERVENTION Policymakers are voicing increasing concern about a decline in the dollar which has been triggered by worries the United States will attract enough foreign investment to cover its huge current account deficit. These worries have been exacerbated by signs of a slowing in the U.S. recovery. The dollar has lost as much as 6.5 percent against the euro and six percent against the yen since mid-October. But so far, policymakers' comments have had little impact. "The market will remain bearish (on the dollar) until policymakers stop talking and show their teeth," said a trader from a UK bank. German Finance Minister Hans Eichel said on Friday that a rapid fall in the dollar could be dangerous for both the American and global economies. He said in a radio interview it was still an open question whether Europe, Japan and the United States would reach a common view on currencies, but added that if any agreement were reached, its details were unlikely to be discussed openly. Japanese Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki repeated that Japan would step into the currency market if movements were erratic.