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CURRENCIES: Dollar Slips Vs. Yen But Gains On Euro, Pound

By Lisa Twaronite

The dollar slipped against the yen but gained on its European and British counterparts in Asian trading Tuesday.

Sterling came under pressure after Fitch Ratings' co-head of global sovereign ratings David Riley told Reuters in an interview Tuesday that the U.K. has the highest risk of major economies of losing its AAA status.

The dollar stood at 89.76 yen, down from 90.06 yen in late Monday's North American trading.

The euro bought $1.4967, down from $1.4998, and the British pound was changing hands at $1.6644, down from $1.6763.

Japan's current-account surplus rose 0.2% in September compared to the same month last year, government data showed Tuesday, beating expectations the surplus would narrow.

On Monday, the dollar fell to the lowest level in 15 months against a trade- weighted basket of currencies after the weekend meeting of Group of 20 policy makers stressed continued economic stimulus, encouraging investors to move into riskier assets such as stocks and away from the greenback.

The trend of selling the U.S. currency short, which has been prevalent since March, remains firmly in place for the foreseeable future, some analysts say.

Despite Tuesday's gains against the euro and pound in Asian trading, "there are few other games in town than USD [U.S. dollar] bashing and while intra-day volatility may remain high, there is probably a requirement for some divergent economic performances before the bearish USD trend is reversed," Patrick Bennett, Asia forex and rates strategist at Société G&# 195;©nérale, wrote in a note to clients Tuesday.

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