London, Jan. 20 (Bloomberg) -- The British pound fell from near a three-year high against the dollar after U.S. officials backed an effort to push Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein into exile. The pound fell to $1.6110 at 7:45 a.m. in London from $1.6170 late Friday, when it reached $1.6195, its highest since February 2000. The U.K. currency was at 66.07 pence per euro, from 65.90. U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said yesterday that he supported an effort by Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries to convince Hussein to quit, easing concern that the U.S. will lead military action to oust the Iraqi leader.
``The market has leapt on the possibility that there could be some diplomatic resolution and that's given the dollar some support,'' said Adam Cole, an economist at Credit Agricole SA. The dollar has fallen against the yen, the pound and the euro this year amid investor concern a U.S.-led war against Iraq would hurt the world's biggest economy and spark terrorist attacks. //www.quote.bloomberg.com