11 May 2005, 09:56  Dollar falls in Asian trading

The dollar fell against the yen and euro in Wednesday morning trading in Asia as concerns grew about data set to be released later about the U.S. trade deficit. The dollar was trading at 105.47 yen late morning in Tokyo, down 0.37 yen from late Tuesday here and below the 105.55 yen it bought in New York later that day. The euro rose to $1.2887 from $1.2824 late Tuesday and to 135.94 yen from 135.72 yen. Worries about the ballooning U.S. trade deficit have weighed on the dollar in recent years, although that has come and gone as a market focus amid other factors that helped boost the dollar. Analysts predict the trade gap will widen to $62 billion in March, a monthly record, as the U.S. economy continues to import far more than it exports, leaving more dollars in the hands of exporters and weakening demand for the U.S. currency. "It would be difficult to see the dollar strengthen ahead of the (trade) report," said David Durrant, chief strategist for Julius Baer Investment Management LLC, which manages about $27 billion. "It's a structural imbalance, and it's not likely to reverse any time soon." In New York Tuesday, the dollar was modestly lower ahead of Wednesday's much awaited March trade deficit data. Falling Treasury yields and U.S. equities added to the pressure on the dollar. It also slipped to 1.2016 Swiss francs from 1.2057 and to 1.2370 Canadian dollars from 1.2383. The British pound fell to $1.8822 from $1.8836 after Britain on Monday announced weak industrial production numbers and the Bank of England left its interest rates unchanged. The yen appreciated last week on speculation China might move during Japan's "Golden Week" holidays to loosen the yuan's peg to the dollar.

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