Euro Shoots Up to Record High Against Weak Dollar

LONDON, 6 December 2003 — The euro shot up to a record 1.2171 to the dollar here yesterday as the faltering US currency was hurt by disappointing job creation figures in the United States.

The euro in late-day trading was at 1.2153 dollars against 1.2085 in New York late on Thursday. The single currency at one point climbed to an all-time high of 1.2171 dollars, eclipsing its previous record - set Thursday - of 1.2160.

The euro was changing hands at 1.2153 dollars from 1.2085 late on Thursday in New York, 130.99 yen (130.85), 0.7037 pounds (0.7015) and 1.5517 Swiss francs (1.5567).

The dollar stood at 107.83 yen (108.19) and 1.2771 Swiss francs (1.2878).

On the London Bullion Market, the price of an ounce of gold edged up to $402.40 from $402.25 on Thursday.

Meanwhile, European stock markets fell yesterday. In London the FTSE 100 index was down 0.26 percent at 4,367 points at the close of trade, in Paris the CAC 40 shed 1.13 percent to finish at 3,457.14 while in Frankfurt the DAX was off 0.85 percent to end at 3,841.73. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading euro zone shares was 0.79 percent lower at 2,672.02 points. Elsewhere in Europe, Milan’s Mib30 index fell 0.57 percent to 27,382 points, Madrid’s Ibex-35 eased 0.23 percent to 7,350.3 and Amsterdam’s AEX shed 0.96 percent to 334.64. The SMI index of leading Swiss shares fell 1.14 percent to 5,365.1 and the Brussels’ Bel-20 dipped 0.30 percent 2,195.99.

In New York, stocks drifted lower in midday trading yesterday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 44 points, or 0.44 percent, at 9,887. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was down 5 points, or 0.42 percent, at 1,065, and the technology-heavy NASDAQ Composite Index was down 20 points, or 1.01 percent, at 1,949.

Asian stock markets inched lower yesterday. The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Nikkei-225 index lost 56.53 points to end at 10,373.46. In Hong Kong, the key Hang Seng Index lost 27.92 points to close at 12,314.73, off a low of 12,236.24 and a high of 12,367.15.

In Sydney, the All Ordinaries index inched 0.2 points higher to 3,232.1. In Singapore, the Straits Times Index added 0.99 points or 0.06 percent to end at 1,733.00 and the All-Singapore Equities index fell 1.58 points to 465.93. In Seoul, the composite index fell 15.72 points to 789.41.