GLOBAL MARKETS WEEKAHEAD-Dollar decline to dominate

By Jeremy Gaunt, European Investment Correspondent

LONDON, March 2 (Reuters) - Currencies will be in full focus on financial markets this week following the dollar's drubbing of recent days yet anyone hoping for help from policy makers to shore up the ailing greenback is likely to be disappointed.

Key meetings of European Union finance ministers and European Central Bank interest-rate setters are expected to do little to shift the status quo, while the U.S. Federal Reserve appears dead-set on cutting again this month.

"I don't see a major change in trend (this) week", said Lex Hoogduin, chief economist at Dutch investor Robeco.

This means that gold and oil prices should maintain their record-breaking pace at least over coming days, while equity and bond investors will have to continue revaluating their holdings in light of a soaring euro and low-yielding dollar.

It may also put strains on export-oriented emerging Asian stock markets, which have otherwise started to see an increase in institutional investment flows.

The dollar took many investors by surprise last week, falling to an all-time record beyond $1.50 to the euro <EUR=>, meaning that the 15-nation currency has strengthened around 15 percent against the greenback over the past 12 months.

Less heralded, but by no means less significant, the so-called dollar index .DXY, which tracks the U.S. currency against six major counterparts, hit its lowest level since inception in 1973.

While many institutional investors believe that the dollar will recover some strength by the end of this year [ID:nL26415642], there is no conviction that this will happen soon.