May 14, 2006	Sunday	Rabi-us-Sani 15, 1427

NEW YORK, May 13: The dollar fell to fresh lows against rival currencies on Friday after an improvement in the US trade deficit failed to stem a weeklong decline in the greenback.

The euro climbed to $1.2922 at 2100 GMT after 1.2835 late Thursday in New York, as the single currency rose to a fresh 12-month high.

The dollar was meanwhile trading at 110.02 yen against 110.67 on Thursday.

The greenback staged a short-lived rally after a government report showed the nation’s trade deficit narrowed to $62 billion in March, the lowest since last August. That was much better than expected and could alleviate some concerns about growing economic imbalances.

The US trade deficit for March was smaller than expected and while there are positive GDP implications, the implications for the dollar are minor, said Marc Chandler, currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman. The dollar rally was “brief and shallow”.

The short-term market is keen to sell into dollar upticks. Sentiment remains extremely poor, he said.

The US dollar is in one of the strongest downtrends I’ve seen in a while, said Andrew Busch, analyst at BMO Nesbitt Burns.

The dollar stood at 110.39 yen (110.67) and 1.2027 Swiss francs (1.2131).

The pound was traded at $1.8910 (1.8821).—AFP