HONG KONG (Reuters) – The dollar fell on Friday to its weakest in almost five months against major currencies on investor worries that the United States would lose its AAA rating, though Asian stocks headed for a solid weekly gain.
The dollar’s descent was sparked on Thursday when Standard & Poor’s cut its outlook on Britain’s top rating to negative, bringing into focus other AAA-rated countries that are running into higher debt in an attempt to boost their economies with big spending plans.
Although signs of hope in the global economy are helping to support Asian stocks, worries are also growing about the strength of any recovery and whether the shift into riskier asset such as oil is justified.
A weaker dollar is also strengthening Asian currencies, which is bound to hurt the export-dependent continent and further raise doubts among investors about whether a gain of more than 50 percent in Asian shares excluding Japan since early March is excessive.
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