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Euro soars to record highs against dollar and yen

The euro soared to a record high against the dollar and yen on Friday after a surprisingly weak reading on US economic activity prompted a flurry of activity in currency markets.

Seconds after an announcement that the US economy in the first quarter expanded at its slowest pace in four years, the euro jumped to US$1.3682, easily smashing its previous record of US$1.3666, reached on Dec. 30, 2004.

But the euro's momentum appeared to stall after an early spurt, raising questions about future trends. At 9pm GMT, the euro was changing hands at US$1.3650 compared with US$1.3598 late on Thursday.

The US dollar rose against the New Taiwan dollar on the Taipei Foreign Exchange on Friday, gaining NT$0.049 to close at NT$33.265. The greenback meanwhile firmed to ¥119.59 from ¥119.54 and eased to 1.2055 Swiss francs from SF1.2084.

Sterling drifted up to US$1.9974 compared with US$1.9911.

The euro extended its gains on the yen, hitting a record ¥163.31 before easing to ¥163.29, compared with ¥162.57 on Thursday.
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