Dollar hits another low against the euro

BERLIN -- The US dollar fell to another new low against the euro yesterday, pushing the European currency higher than $1.34 after US employment data came in weaker than expected.

In late trading in New York, the euro was quoted at $1.3452. The previous record was set Thursday, when the European currency shared for nearly five years by a dozen nations hit $1.3383. The dollar also fell against the Japanese yen, trading at 102.09 yen late Friday, down from 103.19 yen late Thursday.

After a slight dollar recovery, traders seized on disappointing US job creation numbers to send it back to new lows, said Mark Austin, a currency analyst at HSBC in London.

Since last Friday, when it first briefly hit the $1.33 mark, the euro has risen about 1.2 percent against the dollar, hitting new highs throughout the week. As officials around the globe voice their concern over the dollar's slide, intervention remains a possibility.

On Thursday, Japanese Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki called the dollar's dip below 102 yen ''rather rapid," and vaguely hinted at possible coordinated intervention among Japanese, European, and American officials. European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet has called the euro's steep climb ''brutal" and ''unwelcome."

The euro has shot up from $1.20 since September over concerns about the US trade and budget deficits and signals from the Bush administration that it would not step in to stem the tide.