LONDON: The euro hit an 8-month low against the dollar on Wednesday on diverging interest rate outlooks for the United States and euro zone and a view that the euro zone economy would be hurt by further sanctions on Russia.

The euro's weakness was broad-based.

It hit its lowest since August 2012 against the British pound - 78.83 pence, with some investors positioning for hawkish minutes from the Bank of England later in the day.

Against the dollar, the euro fell to $1.3455, its lowest since November 2013 and investors expected more losses in coming days.

The euro was also down 0.2 percent at 136.45 yen.