Bush deficits come home to roost

Dollar Hits Historic Lows, Again
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BERLIN (AP) -- The dollar briefly fell to historic levels Monday on news that construction spending took its biggest nosedive in 14 years, extending a string of record lows for the U.S. currency.

The euro purchased as much as $1.5266 in afternoon European trading, topping the previous intraday record of $1.5238 it hit Friday. The euro gave up some gains and was trading at $1.5182 later in the day.

The British pound fell to $1.9832 from $1.9883, while the dollar slid to 103.51 Japanese yen from 103.96 yen, trading near three-year lows.

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said that sudden foreign exchange moves are not desirable, Kyodo News agency reported.

''I think the situation represents a weak dollar, rather than a strong yen. Either way, too sharp foreign exchange moves are not good,'' Fukuda said. ''We're carefully watching the development.''

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