(RTTNews) - The euro tanked on Friday as renewed concerns about the pace of the global recovery triggered a rush into safe haven currencies like the dollar and yen.
Stocks also fell sharply in the aftermath of yesterday's dismal US jobless claims report, which showed that half a million Americans applied for unemployment benefits for the first time.
Meanwhile, one Europe's more hawkish monetary policy makers backed extending unlimited lending to banks until the end of this year.
German central bank President Axel Weber said policy makers should discuss about exit in early 2011.
"Most of these discussions about the continuation of the exit I think will be focused on the first quarter," he said in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Frankfurt Thursday. Weber, 53, a prominent candidate for the ECB presidency, also said, "It's clear that we need to re-embark on a normalization procedure."
The euro dropped to a monthly low of $1.2663 versus the buck, extending its sharp August decline. With the losses, the euro has moved back toward a 4-year low of $1.1805 set back in June.
The euro also came under pressure versus the yen, touching Y108.23 -- its lowest since late June, when the pair hit a 9-year low around 107.30.
The euro touched a weekly low of 0.8172 versus the sterling, down from 0.8241 overnight. A move below 0.8170 would take the euro to its lowest since late June.
Germany's leading economic index rose 0.9% and the coincident economic index remained unchanged in June, the Conference Board said on Friday.
