Euro strikes record high in brief rise

THE euro briefly rose to a record high versus the dollar for the fifth session running yesterday and tested last year’s lifetime high against the yen as investors’ bearish views of the US currency dominated trading.

There was little news to turn investors’ focus away from their worries about the burden of the US current account deficit on the dollar and about the ability of the US economy to attract enough money to plug this shortfall.

Trading volumes were also thin in the holiday period between Christmas and New Year.