This story was printed from TODAYonline 
Friday • October 10, 2008
The dollar dipped against the euro and yen in early Asian trade Friday ahead of a meeting of Group of Seven finance chiefs, with investors nervous over the turbulence in the global financial system.
The euro firmed to 1.3563 dollars at about 0045 GMT, up from 1.3590 dollars in New York late Thursday.
The dollar was quoted at 98.43 yen, down from 99.50. The yen hit above 99 yen against the US currency for the first time since March 19.
"It's more about investors buying the yen rather than selling the dollar, after seven consecutive days of falls in US stocks market," said Kanako Oikawa, senior strategist at Traders Securities.
"Although the Nikkei-225 fell in the previous session, drops on Wall Street overnight were severer, and investors are evacuating to relatively safe Japan where bad-performing loans in the banking sector have been cleared in its past crisis" in the 1990s, she said.
US and European stock markets slid Thursday -- prompting sharp falls Friday in early Asian trade -- as jitters mounted over the widening global financial crisis despite drastic action by authorities to contain the turmoil.
US shares plumbed fresh five-year lows in a headlong late sell-off.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 7.33 percent to end at 8,579.19, the seventh straight loss for the blue-chip Wall Street index and the first close below 9,000 points since 2003.
Dealers are closely watching the outcome of the meeting in Washington later Friday of finance ministers and central bank governors of the G7 club of major world economies, they said.
"Even though the G7 ministers might come up with fresh cooperative measures to avoid further financial turmoil, I am not sure if such measures will actually ease the market," Oikawa said.
"Personally I think the current financial turbulence will not end until we see rises in the US housing market, a sign of the end of the sub-prime loan problem," she said. — AFP