The U.S. dollar rose Thursday against the euro, pushing the shared European currency below $1.30 on a report of improved U.S. labor productivity and the European Central Bank's decision to leave interest rates unchanged.
The 12-nation euro fell to $1.2970 in late New York trading, down from $1.3038 late Wednesday.
It had held above the $1.30 mark in early trading, but fell after the ECB held rates steady at 2 percent for the 20th straight month and a U.S. Labor Department report that the productivity of American workers increased by 4.1 percent in 2004.
The British pound was quoted at $1.8815 in late New York trading, down from $1.8864 late Wednesday, while the dollar bought 104.49 yen, up from 103.75 yen; 1.2022 Swiss francs, up from 1.1917; and 1.2422 Canadian dollars, up from 1.2380.
The euro initially fell against the dollar after its 1999 debut and bottomed out at 82 U.S. cents in October 2000. But it has been rising steadily on concerns about burgeoning U.S. trade and budget deficits, and rocketed from $1.20 in September to an all-time high of $1.3667 at the end of December. It has since dropped to near the $1.30 mark.
European leaders have worried that the weak dollar will hurt the euro-zone's export-driven economic recovery, making European goods more expensive overseas or cutting into manufacturers' profits. It has the opposite effect on U.S. exports, however, making them less expensive, and many believe that the Bush administration has tacitly allowed the dollar to slip despite professing a strong dollar policy.(По сведениям информационного агентства <->)