The euro hits its lowest level in several years against the dollar, the Swiss franc and the pound sterling. Europe's single currency fell 2.1% this week, and was expected to have its worst week since April 2020.

The euro fell to its lowest level in seven years against the Swiss franc and hit its lowest level in nearly two years against the dollar on Friday as the war in Ukraine lowered expectations for European economic growth . It was down 0.5% at $1.1010 by 0850 GMT, near its lowest level since May 2020.

Against the British pound, the euro also hit its lowest level of 82.61 pence since July 2016. It touched its lowest level since January 2015 at 1.0114 against the safe haven Swiss franc.

The Dollar Index rose 0.36% to 98.073, after touching its highest level since June 2020 against a basket of peers. Elsewhere, the Aussie dollar continued higher, helped by the commodities boom, and rose 0.6% to a four-month high of $0.7370 against the US dollar.

The yen briefly rose against the dollar when news of the fire broke, but then gave up those gains and was little changed at 115.37 per dollar.