The dollar hit a 15-year low point against the yen and dropped versus the euro today after a meeting of the Group of 20 finance ministers over the weekend avoided specific targets on currency devaluations. In London trade, the dollar was at 80.50 yen compared with 81.34 late in New York on Friday. In Asian deals, the dollar had hit 80.41 yen - the lowest level since April 1995. The euro rose to $1.4035 from $1.3949 on Friday. Investors resumed selling the dollar after Group of 20 economies agreed to avoid tit-for-tat currency devaluations but did not set specific targets, analysts said. After all-night talks among their senior officials, G20 finance ministers forged an agreement in South Korea to 'refrain from competitive devaluation of currencies' and aim for 'more market-determined exchange rate systems'. US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Saturday said the US backed a 'strong dollar'.
Two years after the world's worst financial crisis since the 1930s erupted, a super-loose US monetary policy is hammering the dollar, leading to uncomfortably strong currencies for other G20 economies. The Federal Reserve is widely expected to ease its credit grip further at a policy meeting next week. The US is pushing China to allow its currency to rise and reduce its huge trade surplus. Japan, South Korea, Brazil and Indonesia among others have intervened unilaterally in recent weeks to curb the alarming rise in their currencies, which is hurting their exporting companies.