The U.S. Dollar slid versus the single currency Euro in Asian trading today, though it held close to the 8½ month peak struck last week.  Until investors’ concerns are allayed about the fiscal well being of certain Euro-zone countries, the Euro will continue to be under heavy pressure. 

This Thursday, a meeting of the European Council is scheduled to be held, and ECB President, Jean-Claude Trichet left yesterday from Sydney in order to attend the summit.  Investors are anxious to learn whether or not any measures will be put in place to help Greece, Portugal and Spain deal with their budgetary problems.

As reported at 12:43 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the U.S. Dollar slipped to $1.3667, a loss of .1%; last week, the greenback struck $1.3585 on the EBS platform, the highest price in more than 8 months.  The Euro also rose versus the Japanese Yen, trading at 122.17 Yen, a gain of .3%; on Friday, the Euro traded at 120.70 Yen, the lowest price in nearly a year.

Other factors weighing heavily on higher risk currencies include China’s monetary tightening, and plans to increase capital requirements among certain Chinese banks.