DEC. 27, 2004
BBC
The US dollar has continued its record-breaking slide and has tumbled to a new low against the euro.
Investors are betting that the European Central Bank (ECB) will not do anything to weaken the euro, while the US is thought to favour a declining dollar.
The US is struggling with a ballooning trade deficit and analysts said one of the easiest ways to fund it was by allowing a depreciation of the dollar.
They have predicted that the dollar is likely to fall even further.
Sharp weakening
The US currency was trading at $1.364 per euro at 1800 GMT on Monday. This compares with $1.354 to the euro in late trading in New York on Friday, which was then a record low.
The dollar has weakened sharply since September when it traded about $1.20 against the euro.
It has lost 7% this year, while against the Japanese yen it is down 3.2%.
Traders said that thin trading levels had amplified Monday's move. "It's not going to take much to push [the dollar] one way or the other," said Grant Wilson of Mellon Bank.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4127311.stm