The euro is trading at $1.48 against the dollar in early trade on Thursday, as traders react to Fed decision.
The dollar tumbled in Asia Thursday as the US Federal Reserve maintained its easy monetary policy, saying it would hold interest rates at 0-0.25% "for an extended period", dealers said.
The euro climbed to $1.4864, the highest level since December 2009, from 1.4785 in New York late Wednesday. The European single currency also rose to ¥121,44 from 121.39. The dollar sagged to 81.71 yen from 82.15.
The Australian dollar hit a fresh 29-year high against the US unit at US$1.0947, before easing to $1.0933.
The dollar slipped to 1,071.90 Korean Won, a 32-month low. The British pound hit $1.6745, its highest since November 2009.
"The Fed is clearly not thinking about tightening policy anytime soon and, from this perspective, there was nothing in the Fed’s language to arrest the recent decline," noted Spiros Papadopoulos of National Australia Bank.
The policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) also signalled it would maintain its $600bn stimulus programme through June as originally planned.
Fed chairman Ben Bernanke indicated that after this round of spending the bank would leave the current level of stimulus in place, as it assesses whether the economy is strong enough to thrive on its own.
Gen Kawabe, dealer at Chuo Mitsui Trust and Banking, said: "While the Fed’s decision was in line with the market’s expectation, Bernanke’s remarks gave rise to a view that the Fed will continue its monetary easing for a prolonged period, spurring dollar selling and stock purchases." Since the 2008 financial crisis the Federal Reserve has lapped up assets, nearly tripling its holdings and pumping almost $1.8 trillion extra into the economy in the process.
Bernanke said that level "should essentially remain constant going forward from June," while hinting that further spending was off the table for now.
"The trade-offs — are getting less attractive at this point," he said.
The dollar also weakened against other Asian currencies, falling to $1.2256 from $1.2297 on Wednesday and to Tw$28.71 from 28.84.
The US currency also sagged to 8,575.00 Indonesian rupiah from 8,620.00, to 42.99 Philippine pesos from 43.19 and to 29.87 Thai baht from 29.91.
