U.S. manufacturers have for quite some time been demanding that the strong dollar be corrected, and now the greenback has begun gradually depreciating against other currencies.
However, revelations that many firms may have been engaged in illicit accounting practices -- significantly WorldCom Inc. -- have inflicted great damage on U.S. stock prices and sent the Dow Jones industrial average downward.
This led currency market participants, including dealers and hedge funds, to shift strategy and sell dollars.