Stumbling equties enabled the dollar to make hesitant gains yesterday

The pound edged down against the US dollar as weaker equities slowed demand for risk appetite.

• In early trading, sterling fell to a one-week low against the dollar as investors absorbed Bank of England chief Mervyn King's comments from Wednesday that left the door open to more asset purchases to keep monetary policy loose.
  
• The inability of the Dow Jones Industrial Average to break through resistance at the 10,300 level provided the dollar with some modest relief, but analysts cautioned that a "much weaker Dow" would be needed for there to be a significant dollar rebound.
  
• The US Labor Department also reported yesterday that initial state jobless benefit claims fell to 502,000 in the latest week from a revised 514,000 in the prior week. The consensus forecast was for initial claims of 510,000.
  
• In addition, the dollar found slight support after Timothy Geithner, US Secretary of Treasury said that "we are likely to have to borrow substantially less than we initially anticipated to help repair the damage to our financial system."
  
• Investors are now shifting their focus to a meeting of Asia-Pacific nations and other Asian regional issues, including a U.S. state visit to China next week.