The dollar declined against the euro ahead of the Group of Seven nations meeting in Washington on Friday.

The dollar traded at $1.5759 at 9:54 a.m. in Tokyo, from $1.5742 in New York yesterday. The U.S. currency traded at 101.86 yen, from 101.95 on Thursday. The yen was at 160.57 per euro from 160.51.

Finance ministers and central bank presidents comprising the Group of Seven nations will meet in Washington on Friday. The group - which includes the U.S., Japan, Germany, the U.K. France, Italy and Canada - has not set collective policies for a currency since it came to the aid of the euro in 2000.

On Thursday, the European Central Bank maintained its interest rate steady at 4 percent as expected. ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet signaled the bank was not ready to cut rates, citing high inflation.

The Bank of England dropped its benchmark rate by a quarter point as expected as it deals with the effects of a slumping housing market and troubled credit markets.

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