December 20, 2001	Thursday	Shawwal 4, 1422

TOKYO, Dec 19: The yen fell against the dollar in Tokyo on Wednesday as the Bank of Japan (BoJ) eased monetary policy and rumours of another Japan sovereign debt downgrade arose, dealers said.

The yen traded at 128.12-15 to the dollar at 5:00 pm (0800 GMT) after dipping to a low of 128.43 in morning trade. It compares with 127.80-84 in New York and 128.26-28 in Tokyo late Tuesday.

The euro was quoted at 115.54 yen, compared with 115.28 yen in New York and 115.66 yen in Tokyo late Tuesday. The euro bought 0.9016-19 dollars at 5:00 pm against 0.9024-28 dollars in New York and 0.9016-18 dollars in Tokyo late Tuesday.

Little movement is seen in the euro-dollar trading range as most investors are sidelined ahead of the year-end holidays, dealers in Singapore said.

“I don’t see the market moving anywhere,” said a BNP Paribas dealer.

“We should see the euro closing comfortably above 90 (cents) for the year,” he said.

In late Singapore trade, the dollar fell to 10,125 Indonesian rupiah from 10,157.50 on Tuesday, 51.38 Philippine pesos from 51.580, 1.8357 Singapore dollars from 1.8389, and 43.83 Thai baht from 43.845. It rose to 1,292.25 South Korean won from 1,292 and 34.7385 Taiwan dollars from 34.7175.—AFP