NEW YORKThe U.S. dollar briefly hit a postwar record low of 75.78 yen in New York on Friday, breaking its previous record of 75.95 yen marked Aug. 19, as yen buying accelerated on risk aversion amid concern over the eurozone sovereign debt crisis.
At 5 p.m., the dollar traded at 76.23-33 yen, down from 76.70-72 yen at 5 p.m. Friday in Tokyo. The euro traded at $1.3886-3896 and 105.89-99 yen against $1.3736-3738 and 105.36-40 yen late Friday in Tokyo.
The U.S. currency tumbled as traders fled to the perceived safety of the yen on speculation that eurozone countries are making little headway toward resolving the region's debt problems ahead of a European Union summit meeting on Sunday, dealers said.
The dollar slipped below the 76 yen line, the deemed resistance level so far, to rewrite the record low amid growing expectations of further credit easing by the U.S. Federal Reserve in the near future, the dealers said.
In afternoon trading, however, the dollar regained some ground against the yen and traded narrowly in the lower 76 yen range as market participants became cautious about yen-selling intervention by Japanese monetary authorities, they said.
