The dollar's weakness persisted Thursday morning in Asian trading after reaching its lowest point since early January against the euro in New York trading. The dollar also fell to a one-month low against the Japanese yen on concerns about the U.S. trade deficit.
The dollar was trading at 103.84 yen late morning in Tokyo, down 0.78 yen from late Wednesday here and below the 103.93 yen it bought in New York later.
In currencies, the dollar remained weaker after losing against the euro and the yen Wednesday in New York due to higher oil prices, a sell-off in Treasurys and nervousness over U.S. trade figures slated for Friday.
The euro rose to $1.3411 Thursday morning in Tokyo from $1.3350 late Wednesday. Against the Japanese currency, the euro slipped to 139.33 yen from 139.75 yen.
The market is awaiting the release of Japan's January machinery orders later in the day as well as a speech by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan on globalization. Greenspan is expected to reiterate his expectations for solid growth for the American economy and subdued inflation.
In New York Wednesday, the dollar fell to 1.1565 Swiss francs from 1.1611 and 1.2045 Canadian dollars from 1.2132. The British pound, however, slipped to $1.9269 from $1.9281.
The euro gained after Germany, Europe's biggest economy, reported that industrial production in January rose by 3.1 percent, a much stronger performance than economists had expected. The yen's climb was curtailed by new comments from Japanese officials indicating that they are prepared to intervene in currency markets.
Market concern over the yawning U.S. trade and budget deficits have dragged the dollar down since late last year, when the euro shot up from about $1.20 in September to an all-time high of $1.3667 at the end of December. The dollar has recovered slightly since, but has remained within a few cents of that record.