The euro hit a six-week high against the dollar on Friday, with investors optimistic about the strength of the euro zone's recovery after strong economic data this week.

The single currency is up around 0.6% since Monday , putting it on course for a third straight week of gains against the dollar, its best run since July.

The euro had started the week on the back foot, knocked by political uncertainty in Germany after coalition talks faltered, but it recovered quickly as investors focused on a robust growth outlook for Europe and as the dollar weakened broadly.

The dollar dipped to a five-week low against a basket of currencies on Friday.

Minutes from the European Central Bank's latest policy meeting, released on Thursday, showed policymakers had broadly agreed on extending their quantitative easing (QE) scheme, albeit at a lower level, though a decision to keep the asset purchases open-ended appeared to generate fiercer debate.

The euro reached as high as $1.1875 in London trade, its strongest since Oct. 13, having been given a boost by better-than-expected services and manufacturing industry surveys on Thursday.

The single currency also benefited from the dollar's biggest one-day fall since June on Wednesday, after minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting showed some policymakers fretting over stubbornly weak inflation. That led some to question expectations of hikes in 2018.

The core personal consumption expenditures price index has consistently fallen short of the central bank's 2% target for over five years, even as the Fed has moved toward normalizing policy. (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie