/www.fxserver.com/ SINGAPORE - The dollar was under pressure near three-year lows against the euro on Monday and Japanese stocks slipped for a ninth session as growing tension with Iraq stretched investors' nerves, keeping gold near three-year peaks.
Oil prices jumped to fresh seven-week highs as a strike that has cut off most crude supplies from Venezuela, the world's fifth-largest producer, marked its 15th day.
Uncertainty over the U.S. economy and corporate earnings also plagued stock markets after Wall Street shares ended lower for a second week running. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index fell 2.65 percent on Friday.
"Volatile U.S. tech stocks remain a major concern while the recovery in the tech sector is slower than expected," said Albert Lin, vice president at Hotung Securities in Taiwan, where the benchmark index was down 0.4 percent at around 0230 GMT.
But Taiwan was still the best performer among major markets in Asia, where benchmarks were down 0.6 percent in Australia and Hong Kong, 0.7 percent in Singapore and 2.1 percent in South Korea.
Tokyo's Nikkei average was headed for its ninth straight losing session by midday, with Tokyo Electron Ltd and other exporters under pressure on the weakness in the dollar and U.S. stocks.
The Nikkei ended morning trade down 0.8 percent to 8,446.80, putting it on track to post a nine-day losing streak for the first time since 1991.
Chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron fell 3.2 percent after the yen held near a one-month peak against the dollar and U.S. tech stocks tumbled.
"Any strength in the yen is a concern for (corporate) profits if it proves sustained," said Jeremy Hall, associate director of Japanese equities at Henderson Global Investors Japan. "It's not surprising to see exporters sold off a bit on the back of this."
JAPAN WON'T INTERVENE
The dollar was on the defensive after steep losses last week, with attacks by U.S. and British warplanes on Iraqi air defences on Sunday heightening tension in the region.
Japanese authorities offered no resistance to the yen's advance, and Economics Minister Heizo Takenaka said on Sunday the government need not intervene to weaken the currency.
The dollar was quoted around 120.60 yen, compared with 120.49 in late Friday trade in New York, just above a one-month low around 120.40.
The euro was buying around $1.0207 compared with 1.0241 on Friday, when it touched a three-year high of $1.0259.
Fears of war, terrorism and the use of nuclear weapons undermined the dollar and kept the safe-haven investment of gold near three-year highs set on Friday.
Gold was holding around $333.55 an ounce after rising to a three-year peak of $335.25 on Friday.
News last week that Washington was prepared to use nuclear weapons to respond to any Iraqi attack with weapons of mass destruction helped fuel the gold price, as did reports that Iraq might have given militants linked to al Qaeda a chemical weapon. North Korea's decision to reactivate a nuclear power plant gave the market further momentum.
Oil jumped to a fresh seven-week peak after opponents of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, locked in a struggle to force him to resign, kept up a general strike that crippled the nation's oil industry for a 15th day.
NYMEX January crude was at $28.88 per barrel, up 44 cents from New York, where it settled 43 cents higher on Friday.