Dollar falls on doubts about role in world trade

The dollar fell in Asia Tuesday, hit by the prospect US interest
rates will stay low for some time and a media report that Gulf
states are planning to stop using the greenback for oil transactions.
The dollar dropped to 88.86 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade, down from
89.51 yen in New York late Monday. The euro rose to 1.4743 dollars
from 1.4648 while edging down to 131. 02 yen from 131.12.
Britain's Independent newspaper reported on its website Tuesday that
Gulf countries have held secret meetings with officials outside the
region to discuss dropping the dollar for oil trade. The countries
would instead use a basket of currencies, including the yen, the
paper said, citing Gulf Arab and Chinese banking sources in Hong
Kong. The report increased recent negative sentiment toward the
dollar, dealers said. "The timing made it easier to sell the dollar on
the news," Yuzo Sakai, manager at brokerage Tokyo Forex & Ueda
Harlow, told Dow Jones Newswires. "There has been similar talk before
but this comes as concern over the dollar's place in the world is
increasing," Sakai said.