September 27, 2007	Thursday	Ramazan 14, 1428

LONDON, Sept 26: The dollar plunged to another all-time low on Wednesday against the European single currency on growing concerns over the United States economy.

The euro surged to a record $1.4162 in early Asian trade, before pulling back to stand at $1.4124 in late European deals.

The US currency meanwhile stood at 115.64 yen, from 114.77 yen late in New York on Tuesday.

“The dollar hit another record low against the euro of $1.4162 in early trading as market participants continue to focus on the prospect of monetary easing in the US,” said Derek Halpenny, senior currency economist at The Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi.

“This belief was helped by weak housing sales and consumer confidence data.”

In recent weeks, the euro has been boosted by the prospect of more US rate cuts and higher eurozone borrowing costs, which would make the single currency a more attractive investment, dealers said.

The US Federal Reserve slashed its key rate by a hefty half point last week to 4.75 per cent to shore up the economy and financial markets.

The dollar recovered slightly following weak US durable goods orders, as market participants had time to digest the volatile data to decide they were not as bad as feared.

The dollar stood at 115.64 yen (114.77) and 1.1710 Swiss francs (1.1661).—AFP