NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The yen dropped against the dollar Thursday on concerns that Japan's latest economic stimulus plan is not sufficient to speed the nation's recovery from recession.
Japan Thursday revealed details of its $172 billion economic stimulus package. While Economic Planning Agency Minister Taichi Sakaiya said the package will boost gross domestic product by 2.5 percent, currency and stock markets reacted poorly.
"This is just the latest in the line of fiscal stimulus packages, and the fact that they had to issue so many is reflective of the fact that they're not really working," said Jane Foley, currency strategist at Barclays Capital.
Foley argued the package of spending and loan guarantees to businesses won't spur consumer spending, which economists say is key to the Asian nation's recovery.
Just before 3:00 p.m. ET, the yen slipped to 104.89 per dollar from 104.53 Wednesday, a 0.34 percent drop in the Japanese currency's value.
The yen had run-up against the dollar in anticipation of the package. Many analysts worry that a strengthening yen, because is makes exports tougher to sell, will hurt Japan's recovery. Already, large employers like Mazda and Honda have blamed weaker profits on the yen's strength.
The dollar, meanwhile, strengthened against the euro. But with many U.S market participants out for the Veterans Day holiday, analysts put little significance behind the day's dollar/euro trade.
Just before 3:00 p.m. ET, it cost $1.0418 to buy one euro, up from $1.0445 Wednesday, a 0.26 percent gain in the dollar's value.
The European currency, launched early this year, has lost about 10 percent in value since its birth, and many analysts have been waiting for the euro's recovery.
"If we don't get a more convincing bounce soon people are going to give up on it this year," predicted Marc Chandler, chief currency strategist at Mellon Bank.
Anne Mills, currency economist at Brown Brothers Harriman, has near-term concerns about the euro. But she says evidence of Europe's economic recovery has kept her bullish on the euro's performance into next year. 
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