Euro hits 5-week high as it rises above US$1.12

London

THE euro rose above US$1.12 for the first time in more than a month on Tuesday while a cut in Australian interest rates failed to weaken the Australian dollar as the fallout of poor GDP (gross domestic product) data continued to weigh on its US equivalent.

The yen hit its strongest in three weeks, pushing past 102 yen per dollar for the first time since early July after Japan's cabinet approved a package of spending including 13.5 trillion yen (S$178.3 billion) in new fiscal measures.