TOKYO (AP) -- The dollar was flat to lower against the euro and most Asian currencies Thursday morning after weakening earlier in New York on traders' concerns about the widening U.S. current account deficit.
The dollar was trading at 104.34 yen late morning in Tokyo, up 0.06 yen from late Wednesday and above the 104.19 yen it bought in New York later that day.
But the greenback weakened against the euro, with the European unified currency rising to $1.3412 from $1.3362 late Wednesday. Against the Japanese unit, the euro rose to 139.90 yen from 139.34 yen.
The dollar was weaker against most regional currencies in Asia, including the Philippine peso, Singapore dollar and South Korean won. The British pound strengthened to $1.9285 from $1.9122 late Wednesday in New York.
The dollar fell Wednesday in New York after the U.S. Commerce Department reported that its current account deficit widened to a record $187.9 billion during the fourth quarter of 2004 from an upwardly revised $165.9 billion in the third quarter.
Worries about the wide U.S. current account deficit -- the broadest measure of foreign trade -- have strengthened the euro against the dollar over recent months, pushing it from about $1.20 last September to an all-time high of $1.3667 at the end of December.
The dollar had strengthened against the euro Tuesday after capital flows data from the Treasury Department indicated that the United States is still not struggling to finance its deficit.
However, Wednesday's data highlighted the speed with which the country is becoming indebted to the rest of the world. The current account deficit reached an all-time high of $665.9 billion in 2004 from the previous record, set in 2003, of $530.7 billion.