NEW YORK – The euro jumped to a 14-month high against the dollar Wednesday on news that the U.S. economy shrank unexpectedly late last year.
The Commerce Department said that the economy contracted at an annual rate of 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter. That's a sharp slowdown from the 3.1 percent growth rate in the July-September quarter. Economists expected growth of 1.2 percent.
The euro rose to $1.3567 in late trading Wednesday, from $1.3486 late Tuesday. The euro rose as high as $1.3586, its highest point against the dollar since Nov. 18, 2011.
In other trading, the British pound rose to $1.5793 from $1.5759.
The dollar fell to 0.9111 Swiss franc from 0.9219 Swiss franc and to 1.0015 Canadian dollar from 1.0023 Canadian dollar.
The dollar rose to 91.20 Japanese yen from 90.69 Japanese yen.
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