Euro hits 14-month high against the US dollar
An employee of a currency exchange office displays US dollars next to a 20-euro note on Friday in Lyon. The euro tumbled to yet another 16-month dollar low on Friday as the single currency’s fortunes were hit by positive US jobs data and ongoing fears over the eurozone debt crisis.
The euro reached its highest level in 14 months against the dollar today, trading at a peak of $1.3593, the Wall Street Journal reported.
It fell back to $1.3579 by 5 p.m. New York time, Bloomberg News reported.
News that German unemployment declined in January from the month before gave the 17-nation currency a boost, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The euro gained 2.9 percent against the dollar in January, its biggest jump since Oct. 2011, Bloomberg News reported.
That makes six months in a row that the euro has risen against the dollar, its longest consecutive climb since May 2003, according to Bloomberg News.
The euro also strengthened against the yen in January, rising 8.8 percent – its biggest monthly jump since Dec. 2000, Bloomberg News reported.
"For the past four years, we've been fretting about a 'perfect storm' crisis in the euro zone," Michael Woolfolk, chief currency strategist at BNY Mellon, told the Wall Street Journal. "Now we're seeing a return of confidence, and this, of course, is positively impacting the currency."
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