LONDON, 8 October 2003 — The dollar crumbled here yesterday, sending the single currency, the euro, soaring at one point above the 1.18-dollar level and the Japanese yen to its highest reading in nearly three years.

The euro in late-day deals was at 1.1786 dollars after 1.1715 late on Monday in New York. The dollar stood at 109.73 yen from 110.91 on Monday after plummeting to 109.57, levels not seen since November 2000.

Japanese monetary authorities had previously been thought to be ready to defend the 110 yen per dollar level through intervention on the foreign exchange market to try to cushion the blow to its exporters of a rising currency. The euro was changing hands at 1.1786 dollars from 1.1715 late on Monday in New York, 129.36 yen (129.93), 0.7086 pounds (0.7015) and 1.5481 Swiss francs (1.5448). The dollar was being quoted at 109.73 yen (110.91) and 1.3135 Swiss francs (1.3188).

Meanwhile, European shares were mixed yesterday, with the FTSE 100 index edging up a slight 0.04 percent to 4,272 points as a weaker dollar weighed on markets on both sides of the Atlantic. The Paris CAC 40 slipped 0.81 percent to close at 3,254.75 points, while in Frankfurt the DAX was off 1.21 percent at 3,363.55 points in late trades.

Elsewhere in Europe, the Swiss SMI index slipped 0.73 percent to 5,123.7 points, the Amsterdam AEX dropped 0.67 percent to 318.25, the Brussels Bel-20 edged down 0.03 percent to 2,103.28 and the Milan Mib 30 dipped 0.20 percent to 25,299.0. Madrid’s Ibex-35 was unchanged.

In New York, stocks were little changed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.33 points, to 9,593, while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 1.20 points to 1,033. The technology-laced NASDAQ Composite Index was up 0.43 point at 1,893.

Asian share prices edged higher yesterday. The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Nikkei-225 index gained 80.19 points to close at 10,820.33. In Hong Kong, the key Hang Seng index lost 10.56 points to close at 11,723.92.

In Sydney, the All Ordinaries index rose 2.5 points to 3,225.4.

In London, oil prices dipped yesterday following the previous day’s gains despite continued nerves at the possible impact of a general strike in leading African oil producer Nigeria.

The price of reference Brent North Sea crude oil for November delivery fell nine cents to $28.80 per barrel in late deals. New York’s benchmark light sweet crude November contract lost 19 cents to $30.28 per barrel in early trading.