BERLIN (AP) -- The dollar rose to its highest level of the year against the euro on Friday as France reported tepid economic growth and Germany's ruling coalition looked set to lose key state elections over the weekend.
The euro, used by 12 EU nations, was trading at $1.2543 in late European trading after hitting a daily low of $1.2537, down from $1.2639 late Thursday in New York.
That broke the euro's previous low for the year of $1.2582, set Monday on the back of better-than-expected U.S. economic reports last week.
The British pound fell slightly to $1.8237 from $1.8349 the day before, while the dollar bought 108.23 Japanese yen, up from 107.59 yen in New York.
France said Friday its first quarter growth slowed sharply compared to the fourth quarter of last year, hitting 0.2 percent -- below the 0.5 percent increase forecast by economists. |