Euro rises against dollar after record US trade deficit

The euro gained on the dollar as the US trade deficit rose to a record high in May, confounding consensus estimates, dealers said.

"The numbers will help the euro along. There was a quick spike when the figures came out," David Mann at Standard Chartered said.

Mann believes the US trade deficit will widen further over coming months as the effects of a weaker dollar kick in.

The US trade deficit for goods and services widened to a seasonally adjusted $37.6 billion in May from a revised 36.1 billion in April. In percentage terms, the trade deficit widened to 4.1% - the largest deficit since records began in Jan 1992.

The data was unexpected. A consensus forecast of Wall Street economists polled by AFX News called for the deficit to narrow to a seasonally adjusted $35.14 billion.

At 1.42 pm, the euro was at $1.0155 from $1.0139 before the news.