NEW YORK: The dollar regained ground against the euro Tuesday after three straight days of losses, as new worries about Portugal's fiscal woes filtered through the market.
At 2100 GMT the euro was down to $1.4196 from $1.4226 the same time Monday.
The pound meanwhile shot to a 14 month high against the greenback, after British inflation figures pointed to a possible interest rate hike by the Bank of England.
The pound pushed up to $1.6370, from the previous day's $1.6311 rate.
"There are some concerns about what's coming in from Portugal" said Mary Nicola of BNP Paribas, citing concerns about the fate of the government's tough austerity program, designed overcome its fiscal crisis.
"There is some speculation that the parliament and the government won't be able to reach an agreement, so that is putting some pressure on the euro," she said.
In Britain, the inflation rate jumped to 4.4 percent in February, the highest level for more than two years, driven by soaring fuel bills and rising clothing costs, the Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday.
At more than double the central bank's official target rate of 2.0 percent, it was taken by traders as a likely sign that the Bank of England would move to increase interest rates.
The Japanese currency rose, with the dollar buying 80.93 yen from 81.07 yen on Monday.
The dollar traded lower with the Swiss franc, to 0.9034 francs.
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