The euro soared against the US dollar on Thursday, edging toward the psychologically important $1.40 level, after European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet cemented expectations of a near-term interest rate rise. The euro climbed as high as $1.3976 on trading platform EBS, its strongest level since early November after rising above resistance around its 200-week moving average at $1.3958. It last traded at $1.3939, up 0.6 percent on the day.
The euro jumped as high as 114.97 yen on Reuters data. It also rose 1 percent to 85.71 pence and was up 1.4 percent at 1.2979 Swiss francs. The dollar rose 0.7 percent to 82.46 yen, getting a lift after data showed new US claims for unemployment benefits fell last week to their lowest level in more than 2-1/2 years. A separate report showed the US services sector grew at a slightly faster pace in February to another five-year high.