SINGAPORE, Dec 23 (AFP) - The dollar was slightly higher against the yen and the euro Thursday in thin pre-Christmas during early Asian trading hours, dealers said.
At 10:00 am (0200 GMT), the dollar was at 103.98 yen in Singapore trading, up from 103.96 in New York late Wednesday and the euro was at 1.3397 dollars, down from 1.3403 dollars. Markets in Japan are closed for a public holiday.
"The market is generally very thin," said Lee Boon Keng, a strategist with DBS bank in Singapore.
Persistent worries over the massive US current account and budget deficits are expected to keep the dollar weak against the major currencies, dealers said.
"The dollar is generally weak ... the overbearing reason is the current account and fiscal deficits," Lee said.
A DBS bank report said the dollar was expected to slip futher in 2005.
"We believe that there is still no closure to the weak US dollar outlook," the Singapore bank said.
"Even as we believe the US dollar has more room to fall, we recognise that the ride down over the past few years has not been a smooth one.
"The year 2005 will be no exception and will probably be more challenging in many regards."
12/23/2004 02:22 GMT - AFP