EURO CONTINUES ITS SLIDE; CLOSE TO PARITY WITH DOLLAR.Byline: Paul Ames Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. The euro slumped to its lowest level to date against the dollar and the yen Friday despite brighter news on Europe's economic prospects and efforts by central bankers to talk up the infant European currency. In European trading, the euro fell to $1.007, down from its previous low of $1.0108 in July and a 15 percent drop from peak reached on the euro's market debut on Jan. 4. Against the yen, the euro skidded to 104.70, the latest in a series of all-time lows. In trading in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , the euro crept back up to $1.0156, but it seems only a matter of time before the shared European currency falls below the $1 benchmark for the first time. ``We're getting so close to parity, speculators are finding it too hard to resist,'' said Jeremy Hawkins, chief economist The Chief Economist is a single position job class having primary responsibility for the development, coordination, and production of economic and financial analysis. It is distinguished from the other economist positions by the broader scope of responsibility encompassing the at Bank of America
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC TYO: 8648 ) is the largest commercial bank in the United States in terms of deposits, and the largest company of its kind in the world. in London. The euro's slump will cloud Monday's regular meeting of European Union European Union (EU), name given since the ratification (Nov., 1993) of the Treaty of European Union, or Maastricht Treaty, to the European Community finance ministers. But despite the symbolism of the looming fall below dollar-parity, EU officials insisted the currency's tumble was no cause for undue concern. ``It is the strength of the dollar rather than the weakness of the euro that has caused this,'' said EU finance spokesman Gerassimos Thomas. ``We see the euro-zone fundamentals as remaining strong.'' The favorable exchange rates have proved a boon to tourists visiting from the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. and Japan as well as investors seeking to take advantage of Europe's telecommunications and technology boom that has pushed regional markets in London This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the for details. This article has been tagged since October 2007. , Paris, Amsterdam and Madrid to record levels. Nonetheless, the euro's precipitous fall threw a damper over the upbeat mood induced by Wednesday's forecast by the European Commission that the 11-nation euro-zone's economy would grow 2.9 percent next year and outpace U.S. growth after a decade of playing catch-up. Traders appeared unconvinced by the EU's rosy forecast, especially since the recovery in core nations Germany and Italy remained decidedly sluggish. CAPTION(S): Chart Chart: FALLING EURO Approaching parity with the dollar, the euro dropped to a new low Friday. Here are the weekly closes for the euro since its introduction on Jan 4, 1999. Source: Compiled from AP research Associated Press |
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