Updated at 11:28 a.m., Friday, December 28, 2007
Dollar continues decline versus euro, yen
Associated Press
NEW YORK — The dollar continued its slide against the euro on Friday amid market uncertainty surrounding the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and a report that new home sales dropped in the United States.The 13-nation currency bought $1.4714 in late New York trading, up from $1.4627 Thursday.
The British pound dipped to $1.9922, from $1.9958, while the dollar slid to 112.78 Japanese yen from 113.69 yen.
The dollar has suffered lately from worries over the health of the U.S. economy in the wake of the subprime lending crisis. Weak reports from the Commerce and Labor Departments in Washington on Thursday did little to encourage markets.
On Friday the Commerce Department reported that new home sales in November plunged to their lowest level in 12 years, tumbling 9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 647,000.
News of Bhutto's killing also appeared to contribute to currency markets' nervousness, amid persistent violence across Pakistan that badly damaged plans to restore democracy in the nuclear-armed U.S. ally.
In other trading, the dollar slipped to 1.1263 Swiss francs from 1.1386 francs, and rose to 98.14 Canadian cents from 98.06 Canadian cents in the previous session.
