Euro rises against dollar, above US$1.37

The euro broke through the psychologically important US$1.37 level in trading Tuesday in Europe as economic sentiment in the 13 countries that use the currency softened for a second month in a row.

Photo: Euro rises against dollar, above US.37

The common European currency traded as low as US$1.3676 before climbing to US$1.3704 in late-morning trading, higher than the US$1.3689 it bought in late Monday trading in New York.

The rise came even as economic confidence slipped during the month in both the EU and the euro zone although the European Commission stressed that it had merely fallen back from very high levels.

Its economic sentiment indicator recorded a reading of 113.3 for the EU in July, down from 115 a month earlier, and 111 in the euro currency region from 111.7 in June.

The dollar fell further against the Japanese currency, dropping as low as 118.75 yen before edging up to 119.06 - above the 118.76 yen it bought Monday.

The British pound jumped higher to US$2.0314 from the US$2.0228 it bought Monday - as markets seemed willing to accept that the Bank of England, which meets Thursday, is likely to keep its benchmark rate unchanged at 5.75 percent when it meets.