NEW YORK: The euro hit its highest against the dollar in three weeks and the dollar slid to a three-week low against the Swiss franc on Monday after US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the world's biggest economy needs to grow faster to bring down unemployment.
The euro currency rose to as high as $1.3316, its highest since March 2, according to Reuters data. Against the Swiss franc, the dollar dipped as low as 0.9045, its lowest since March 2 as well.
Bernanke "is being dovish and sort of downplaying the pace of labor market improvement we've had so far," said Sean Incremona, an economist at 4Cast Ltd. in New York.
That, in turn, supported views that US monetary policy would remain in place for some time and fanned hopes that markets could yet see another round of quantitative easing from the Fed.