FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) -- The dollar fell to a new all-time low against the euro Monday after a weekend meeting of the Group of Seven finance ministers ended without a clear statement about weakness in the U.S. currency.The euro rose as high as $1.4348 in Asian trading, breaking a previous record of $1.4319, set on Friday, before settling back to $1.4280 in late morning trading in Europe. That was barely changed from the $1.4281 it bought in New York late Friday.
Concerns about the health of the U.S. economy have put pressure on the dollar for months, but whether the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again soon is considered by traders a tossup. "Clearly any further speculation that we'll see another rate cut from the Fed as soon as next week would add" more pressure, said James Hughes, a market analyst CMC Markets in London.
The European Central Bank, in contrast, has left open the option of raising its own rates, but most analysts believe such a move will not come before December. Hughes said that, if the ECB does resume its rate increases, that could push the euro up to $1.45 -- the point at which most analysts think European exporters will start to feel the pinch of the weak dollar.
In other trading, the British pound drifted down slightly to $2.0444 on Monday from $2.0500 on Friday. The dollar hit a six-week low against the Japanese yen, falling to 113.72 from 144.80 yen.