NEW YORK (AP):

The dollar fell against most major currencies Monday, hitting three-year lows against the Japanese yen, as the head of the European Central Bank expressed concern about the "disorderly movements" of exchange rates.

ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet told reporters in Basel, Switzerland, that the dollar's string of record lows was unsettling.

"Excessive, volatile and disorderly movements are undesirable for economic growth," he said after a meeting of central bankers at the Bank for International Settlements. "In the present circumstances, we are concerned about excessive exchange rate moves."

Euro's rise

Trichet's comments, his most direct to date about the euro's rise, sent the common European currency higher. It rose to US$1.5352 in late New York trading, from US$1.5335 on Friday.

The British pound remained above the US$2 mark, buying US$2.0101 just below the US$2.0173 it bought in New York late Friday.

In other New York trading, the dollar fell to 102.04 Japanese yen from 103.09 yen on Friday, and slipped to 1.0185 Swiss francs from 1.0249 Swiss francs. The dollar also fell to 1.0024 Canadian dollars from 1.0175 Canadian dollars.

David Solin, a partner at Foreign Exchange Analytics in Essex, Connecticut, said Trichet's remarks could drive the dollar to rebound slightly.

Turning point

"Historically, comments like these that express discomfort with foreign exchange markets mark a fairly decent-sized turning point for the dollar," Solin said.

"These comments could provide some kind of support for it. We should be seeing more dollar buying, considering the sharp selling there's been in the last month."

But Gary Thomson of CMC Markets in London said the euro may be poised for a run towards US$1.55 later this week, particularly if the US Federal Reserve signals another interest rate cut.

Lower interest rates can jump-start a nation's economy, but can also weigh on its currency as traders transfer funds to countries where they can earn higher returns.