August 31, 2003	Sunday	Rajab 2, 1424

NEW YORK, Aug 30: The dollar slumped against a bevy of major rivals on Friday amid thinning volume as traders got jittery ahead of the long US Labour Day holiday weekend.

Earlier in the session, the dollar plumbed three-month lows against the yen, falling 1 per cent against the Japanese currency, the euro, the Swiss franc and the Australian dollar.

The dollar’s sag against the yen was driven mainly by the surprising news that the Bank of Japan had not intervened to weaken the Japanese currency during August.

Treasury Secretary John Snow’s imminent visit to Asia, during which he is expected to discuss foreign exchange, consolidated traders’ impression that the BoJ may step out of the way for the moment and allow the dollar to be punished against the Japanese currency. The BoJ acts on behalf of Japan’s Ministry of Finance in foreign exchange market interventions.—Reuters