Dollar slides in foreign exchange trading

The value of the dollar dropped in foreign exchange trading today, reaching year lows against the euro.

As investors opt to move away from the safety of the greenback to higher yielding assets, the value of the dollar suffers.

Speculation over what will be proposed at the forthcoming meeting of G20 leaders also added further pressure to the dollar in foreign exchange trading.

Masashi Kurabe, head of currency sales and trading at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi in Hong Kong, told the Bloomberg news agency: "There's talk that world leaders may seek to address the US imbalances. This may lead to weakness in the dollar."

Proposals for a programme of sustained growth could be put forward at the meeting, some believe.

Aside from the G20 meeting, the latest two-day policy meeting at the Federal Reserve in New York is also having an effect on the markets.

The dollar index, which tracks the currency against six trading partner currencies also declined in trading today.