Dollar slips as German court ruling supports euro

NEW YORK— The dollar fell against the euro Wednesday after a German court ruling keeping the country involved in the euro bloc’s rescue fund.

Germany is Europe’s largest economy and a key part of the bailout program.

In late trading Wednesday, the euro rose to $1.4093 from $1.3991 late Tuesday. It had dropped more than 5 cents, about 3.5 percent, in the past two weeks, hitting a nearly two-month low of $1.3972 Tuesday, as fears of a deepening debt crisis and slowing economy hurt European markets.

Also boosting the euro was better than expected industrial production data from Germany and the successful passage of an austerity package by Italy’s Senate.

There was no economic data from the US Wednesday except for a report from the Federal Reserve that showed that 12 of its regions saw modest economic growth this summer.

In other trading, the dollar fell to 0.8580 Swiss franc from 0.8615 Swiss franc, despite Switzerland’s efforts to weaken its currency.

On Tuesday, the Swiss National Bank said it would spend whatever it took to the keep the franc from rising above 1.20 francs per euro. A strong franc makes exports from and traveling to Switzerland more expensive. The central bank said it needed to cut the currency’s value to avoid a recession.

On Wednesday, the British pound rose to $1.5980 from $1.5936. The dollar fell to 77.25 Japanese yen from 77.67 yen and fell to 98.58 Canadian cents from 99.01 Canadian cents.