Dollar sinks to fresh low versus euro after Bernanke comments

NEW YORK, Feb 28, 2008 (AFP) - The dollar plunged to a fresh record low against the euro Thursday amid more glum US economic news and downbeat comments on the outlook from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke.





In late New York trade, the dollar stood at 105.



30 yen from 106.45 Wednesday and 1.0512 Swiss francs after 1.0630.

The pound climbed to 1.9899 dollars from 1.9815. The single European currency jumped to an all-time high of 1.

5229 dollars at one point Thursday.

The euro at 2200 GMT was buying 1.5197 dollars, against 1.5119 late Wednesday.

The euro broke through the symbolic 1.

50-dollar barrier on Tuesday for the first time since its creation in 1999 and topped 1.52 dollars for the first time Thursday. The greenback also sank against the other major currencies, nearing the level of 105 yen.

The US currency remained under pressure as Bernanke testified in Congress for a second day on the central bank's semiannual economic report.

The Fed chief, who gave strong hints of more rate cuts by the central bank, said the US economy faces a different and more complex set of issues than the recession in 2001.

"We are facing a situation where we have simultaneously a slowdown in the economy,