The dollar fell against the yen in Asian trade today following grim US data that underscored the economic challenges for President Barack Obama's administration, dealers said.
The dollar slid to 91.01 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade from 91.85 late Friday in New York. The euro also fell to 1.2906 dollars from 1.2943 and to 117.46 yen from 118.87 on profit- taking following the European unit's recent gains.
The US Senate was close to voting on a revamped stimulus bill of more than 800 billion dollars as Obama presses for swift action to revive the world's largest economy.
But "basic qualms remain, such as whether it will be enough to boost the economy," said Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corp's chief forex strategist Hideaki Inoue.
"And if it emerges in the coming months that Obama's stimulus measures are having little effect, markets will be swamped again with renewed uncertainty," he said.
The US government reported Friday that unemployment spiked to a 16-year high of 7.6 per cent in January from 7.2 per cent in December as nearly 600,000 jobs were lost.
Non-farm payrolls plunged by a larger-than-expected 598,000 in January, the biggest drop since late 1974. That brought the total number of jobless people to 3.6 million since the recession began in December 2007.
There was also caution ahead of a speech on Tuesday-one day later than initially planned-by US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on fresh measures to clean up the financial system.
Markets are expecting him to unveil details of a government- sponsored "bad bank" that would unload toxic assets off banks' books in a bid to unlock a persistent lending freeze. Media reported it may work with the private sector to purchase the uncollectible loans.
Meanwhile, the euro was weighed down by concerns over Russia, whose economy has close links with some members of the eurozone.
Fitch Ratings last week downgraded Russia amid a slump in energy prices, whose high levels in recent years fuelled the country's boom.
Dealers largely ignored Japanese data showing the current account surplus shrank in 2008 for the first time in three years as it was only the latest in a slew of statistics showing weak exports.
The dollar was lower against some regional Asian currencies. It slipped to 11,750 Indonesian rupiah from 11,785 and to 1.4982 Singapore dollars from 1.5064. But the dollar rose to 1,382.70 South Korean won from 1,378.60.
The greenback fell to 47.06 Philippine pesos from 47.22 and to 34.99 Thai baht from 35.02. It was stable at 33.65 Taiwan dollars.
The dollar slid to 91.01 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade from 91.85 late Friday in New York. The euro also fell to 1.2906 dollars from 1.2943 and to 117.46 yen from 118.87 on profit- taking following the European unit's recent gains.
The US Senate was close to voting on a revamped stimulus bill of more than 800 billion dollars as Obama presses for swift action to revive the world's largest economy.
But "basic qualms remain, such as whether it will be enough to boost the economy," said Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corp's chief forex strategist Hideaki Inoue.
"And if it emerges in the coming months that Obama's stimulus measures are having little effect, markets will be swamped again with renewed uncertainty," he said.
The US government reported Friday that unemployment spiked to a 16-year high of 7.6 per cent in January from 7.2 per cent in December as nearly 600,000 jobs were lost.
Non-farm payrolls plunged by a larger-than-expected 598,000 in January, the biggest drop since late 1974. That brought the total number of jobless people to 3.6 million since the recession began in December 2007.
There was also caution ahead of a speech on Tuesday-one day later than initially planned-by US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on fresh measures to clean up the financial system.
Markets are expecting him to unveil details of a government- sponsored "bad bank" that would unload toxic assets off banks' books in a bid to unlock a persistent lending freeze. Media reported it may work with the private sector to purchase the uncollectible loans.
Meanwhile, the euro was weighed down by concerns over Russia, whose economy has close links with some members of the eurozone.
Fitch Ratings last week downgraded Russia amid a slump in energy prices, whose high levels in recent years fuelled the country's boom.
Dealers largely ignored Japanese data showing the current account surplus shrank in 2008 for the first time in three years as it was only the latest in a slew of statistics showing weak exports.
The dollar was lower against some regional Asian currencies. It slipped to 11,750 Indonesian rupiah from 11,785 and to 1.4982 Singapore dollars from 1.5064. But the dollar rose to 1,382.70 South Korean won from 1,378.60.
The greenback fell to 47.06 Philippine pesos from 47.22 and to 34.99 Thai baht from 35.02. It was stable at 33.65 Taiwan dollars.