Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) -- The Brazilian real registered the biggest gain against the U.S. dollar among 16 major currencies today, strengthening 0.77 percent as of about 5:00 p.m. Tokyo time. The worst performer was the Japanese yen, which fell 0.19 percent.

The following table ranks the best- and worst-performing major currencies against the dollar.

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                       Percent                        Percent
Best Performing:       Change    Worst Performing:    Change
==============================   ==============================
Brazilian real          0.77     Norwegian krone       0.31
South African rand      0.42     Canadian dollar       0.24
Swedish krona           0.62     South Korean won      0.18
Australian dollar       0.58     Swiss franc           0.17
Euro                    0.44     New Zealand dollar    0.00
Danish krone            0.44     Singapore dollar     -0.02
Mexican peso            0.38     Taiwan dollar        -0.15
British pound           0.36     Japanese yen         -0.19
==============================   ==============================

To contact the reporter on this story: Harumi Ichikura in Tokyo at mbabic@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: December 20, 2004 03:21 EST