The dollar continued its slide against the Japanese yen in European trading this morning, but gained ground from Thursday's lower levels against several European currencies. Spot gold prices were driven sharply lower under the pressure of Japanese selling. The dollar closed in Tokyo at 154.15 yen, down 2.60 yen from Thursday's close. Later in London, it was quoted at 153.99 yen. Other dollar rates in Europe, compared with late Thursday: _1.6342 West German marks, down from 1.6368 _1.3995 Swiss francs, up from 1.3950 _5.5285 French francs, up from 5.5235 _1.8410 Dutch guilders, up from 1.8407 _1,206.00 Italian lire, up from 1,205.75 _$1.1770 Canadian, up from $1.1650 The British pound fell to $1.6728 from $1.6770 late Thursday. Some market players remained on the sidelines awaiting the U.S. government's release later today of the producer price index and retail sales figures. Concern that the U.S. economy is slowing also helped push the dollar lower, dealers said. Dealers said an overnight decline in the dollar's value against the Swiss franc and West German mark pushed it below a technical floor, resulting in widespread dollar selling. The franc has been rising because of high Swiss interest rates, strong Asian demand and the increasing tendency to view the franc as a ``safe haven'' currency, dealers said. Japan's major securities houses sold the dollar heavily in the morning. After lunch, they were joined by life insurers and other major market players, said John Radinoff, vice president of Goldman Sachs (Japan). ``The yen has been massively oversold, and people have been looking for excuses to sell dollars,'' Radinoff said. ``Over the next couple of days there will be some serious thinking going on over whether this is the start of a new trend or whether the dollar is just testing to find a new base,'' said Mahesh Trivedi, senior corporate dealer at Daiwa (Europe) Bank Ltd. ``We could be just near the beginning of a sharp rise in the yen,'' said Mark Austin, currency analyst at Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corp. in London. Spot gold prices in London dropped as low as $367.50 an ounce in London this morning, off from $371.35 an ounce late Thursday. In Zurich, gold opened at $367.60 an ounce, down from $371.25 bid late Thursday. In Hong Kong, gold dropped $3.12 an ounce today, to close at $369.10. Silver bullion rose in London to a late bid price of $5.06 a troy ounce, down from $5.08 bid late Thursday.
