Yen slide not abating

The yen declined for a fourth straight week against the dollar, the longest losing streak since May, on signs the Japanese economy is weakening.

Japan's currency has dropped about 3.8 per cent since reaching a five-year high on January 17, after reports showed falling household spending and industrial output.

A Government report this week may show little expansion in the world's second-largest economy last quarter.

This month, Bank of Japan Governor Toshihiko Fukui said "there's still a little distance to go before the economy can be said to be on a sustainable recovery path."

Japan's economy probably expanded at an annual 0.1 per cent pace in last three months of 2004, the same as in the third quarter, according to the median of 30 forecasts in a Bloomberg survey.

The report is scheduled for Wednesday.

- BLOOMBERG