Dollar Sinks Below 100 Yen

Stocks tumble as dollar hits 12-year low
By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 13, 2008 5:10 AM CDT
Dollar Sinks Below 100 Yen
Money traders work at a Tokyo dealing room as the U.S. dollar falls against the Japanese yen as low as 99.84 yen Thursday afternoon, March 13, 2008.   (AP Photo/Kyodo News)

The dollar's decline continued today, dropping below the symbolically dramatic threshhold of 100 yen for the first time in 12 years. The greenback held on just above ¥100 during the trading day in Tokyo before slumping to ¥99.80 in Europe this morning. The dollar took a pummeling across the board, trading at record lows against not only the yen but also the euro and the Swiss franc.

The strong yen is causing no rejoicing in Tokyo; its potential drag on exports drove down the Nikkei by 3.3%, hitting its lowest point this year, reports the Financial Times. One Japanese economist estimated that a hundred-yen dollar could shave off half a percent from the country's GDP over six months. The dollar last broke the psychological barrier of ¥100 in September 1995. (More Japan stories.)

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