Euro stung by Ireland bank woes, weak economic data

The euro fell from a five-month high versus the dollar on Thursday, weighed by worries over Ireland's economy and banking sector, which underlined concern over the euro zone periphery.

Other data suggesting growth in the euro zone slowed in September also contributed to the declines in the single currency as it raised concerns about the region's recovery.

A 1.2 percent fall in second quarter Irish GDP from the first quarter confounded forecasts for a 0.5 percent rise and highlighted the struggles facing Ireland as it tries to shore up its banking sector.

In the United States, the dollar fell versus the yen after a report showed an unexpected rise in weekly jobless claims.

"Overall the sentiment is pretty negative today, with several pieces of data in Europe, such as the Irish GDP data hurting the euro," said Matthew Strauss, a senior currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets in Toronto.

"It will be hard to see a sustained push above 1.34 in euro/dollar with that type of data and concerns over euro zone periphery looming," he added. "But with weak data in the U.S. as well and the possibility of further quantitative easing by the Fed looming, it will be also hard to justify pushing the dollar much higher now." Read more