LONDON (AFP) - The euro rose against the dollar on Thursday on renewed risk appetite before an interest rate decision from the European Central Bank, while gold struck another record high point.
The dollar weakened as signs of a recovery in US corporate earnings and a fall in Australian unemployment spurred demand for riskier assets, dealers said.
The British pound meanwhile fell against the euro but rose against the dollar ahead of a separate monetary policy call from the Bank of England.
In late morning trading here, the European single currency rose to 1.4771 dollars from 1.4689 dollars late in New York on Wednesday.
Against the Japanese currency, the dollar slid to 88.26 yen from 88.60 yen on Wednesday.
In commodity trading, gold continued its stellar rise as the sliding dollar has made the precious metal cheaper for investors holding other currencies, boosting demand.
Gold prices hit yet another record high point of 1,058.48 dollars an ounce in early morning London trade.
Investors were waiting for monetary policy meetings by the Bank of England and the European Central Bank later in the day, although both were expected to leave their key lending rates unchanged.
"We expect very little from either central bank as they survey the 'green shoots' around their respective economies that are sprouting amidst the rubble of sharp recessions," said Rabobank International economist Adrian Foster.
The BoE will publish its latest decision at 1100 GMT, followed by the ECB announcement at 1145 GMT.
Investor risk appetite grew on Wednesday, weighing on the "safe-haven" greenback and yen, after US aluminium giant Alcoa announced a surprise third-quarter profit as it kicked off the latest earning results season.
"The dollar remains vulnerable against the background of firming risk appetite," said Calyon analyst Mitul Kotecha.
Optimism was also boosted by a better-than-expected jobs report in Australia, where the unemployment rate showed a surprise fall.
Australia's economy created 40,600 jobs in September, with the unemployment rate falling to 5.7 percent, down from 5.8 percent in August. The data pushed up the Australian dollar on talk of another interest rate hike there.
The dollar had already fallen sharply this week, hit by an Australian interest rate hike and a British media report that Gulf states were planning to stop using the US unit for oil transactions, traders said.
In London on Thursday, the euro was changing hands at 1.4771 dollars against 1.4689 dollars late on Wednesday, at 130.33 yen (130.16), 0.9212 pounds (0.9203) and 1.5162 Swiss francs (1.5175).
The dollar stood at 88.26 yen (88.60) and 1.0268 Swiss francs (1.0329).
The pound was at 1.6067 dollars (1.5956).
On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold jumped to 1,056.55 dollars an ounce from 1,040.25 dollars an ounce late on Wednesday.
72.71 (0.63%)
