hushmoney

The euro rose to a record high of $1.4752 in European trading before falling back to $1.4673 in the late afternoon, above the $1.4667 it bought Thursday. Its previous trading high was $1.4730 on Wednesday.

The dollar is down nearly 12 percent against the euro since the start of the year.

The dollar gained on the euro after the European Union, blaming oil prices and market turmoil, cut its economic forecasts for the next two years, with growth now expected to slow to 2.4 percent in 2008 and 2009.

Britain's pound went as high as $2.1161 before falling to $2.0909, below the $2.1087 it bought Thursday.

The dollar weakened against many of the European currencies and the yen on Thursday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said economic growth would slow noticeably in the United States in the coming months while rising oil costs would increase inflation pressures.

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Although lower interest rates can jump-start an economy, they can also weaken a currency as investors transfer funds to countries where they can earn higher returns.

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The Canadian dollar has risen almost 20 percent in value against the U.S. dollar this year, achieving one-to-one parity for the first time since 1976. On Wednesday, the Canadian dollar was worth $1.1039, its highest level in the post-1950 era of Canadian floating exchange rates.

The "loonie" has taken flight as prices of Canada's major exports, including oil and gold, have surged.

Full story: http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071109/dollar.html?.v=4

And I'm sure no one will see this as a reason to cut down on oil consumption.