Euro loses most since July 2012

London (Nov 4)  The euro slid the most in more than a year versus the dollar as weaker-than-forecast economic data for the currency region fuelled speculation the European Central Bank will cut interest rates as soon as at its meeting this week.

The greenback climbed the most since June against a basket of 10 major peers after the Federal Reserve said it sees economic improvement even as it plans to maintain stimulus while it awaits evidence of further gains. A gauge of currency volatility rose for the first week since August. Brazil's real dropped amid concern the nation's credit rating may be cut.

The euro fell 2.3 per cent to $1.3487 last week in New York , the largest decrease since the five days ended July 6, 2012 , after reaching an almost two-year high of $1.3832 on October 25 . The shared currency weakened one per cent to 133.08 yen , while the Japanese currency lost 1.3 per cent against the dollar to 98.67. The Bloomberg US Dollar Index gained 1.5 per cent, the most since the week ended June 21 , to 1,015.69. It reached 1,016.58 on Friday.

The real dropped three per cent to 2.2538 per dollar and touched 2.2613, the weakest level since September 27 .

Canada's dollar was the biggest winner this week among the greenback's 16 most-traded counterparts, with a 0.3 per cent gain versus the US currency. The South Korean won was the second-best performer, with a 0.1 per cent gain.

South Africa's rand was the biggest loser, sinking 3.6 per cent, while the Swedish krona dropped 3.4 in the second-worst performance.