Russian President may push ‘new world currency’…

The dollar dropped to its lowest level against the euro this year on speculation record U.S. borrowing will undermine the greenback, prompting nations to consider alternatives to the world’s main reserve currency.

The 16-nation euro gained for a fourth day versus the dollar as the Russian government said emerging-market leaders may discuss the idea of a supranational currency. The pound strengthened to $1.65 for the first time since October.

“There’s been a lot of talk out of Russia about a new global currency, and that’s contributing toward this latest bout of dollar weakness,” said Henrik Gullberg, a currency strategist at Deutsche Bank AG in London. “These latest comments are just adding to the general dollar weakness we’ve seen recently.”

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The dollar slid 0.9 percent to $1.4289 per euro at 10:52 a.m. in New York, from $1.4159 yesterday. It touched $1.43, the weakest level since Dec. 29. The dollar fell 0.5 percent to 96.08 yen, from 96.59. The euro rose 0.4 percent to 137.36 yen from 136.78. The pound traded at $1.6557, compared with $1.6443, after touching $1.6564, the highest level since Oct. 30.

The U.S. currency pared its decline versus the yen as the National Association of Realtors said pending sales of existing homes climbed 6.7 percent in April. The median forecast of 32 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was a 0.5 percent gain.

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