To: Tenchusatsu who wrote (335531 ) 4/27/2007 10:00:12 AM From: tejek Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 1575627 Poor U.S. growth sends dollar to record euro low Fri Apr 27, 2007 2:21 PM BST By Veronica Brown LONDON (Reuters) - Weaker-than-expected U.S. first quarter growth drove the dollar to a record low against the euro on Friday and added to losses on equity markets, stoking investor expectations for a Federal Reserve rate cut. Wall Street looked set for a poor start after the Commerce Department said weaker exports and a steady slide in spending on homebuilding had helped slow U.S. economic growth to its softest pace in four years. Gross domestic product or GDP, which measures total goods and services output within U.S. borders, increased at a weaker- -than-expected 1.3 percent annual rate in the three months from January through March. A price gauge favored by the Federal Reserve - personal consumption expenditures excluding food and energy items - increased at a 2.2 percent rate in the first quarter, slightly ahead of forecasts for a 2.1 percent advance. That was up substantially from the fourth quarter's 1.8 percent rate and is likely to keep Fed policy-makers wary about the potential for a pickup in inflation. "The (GDP) report's not good, whatever way you look at it, for the dollar. You have a low GDP growth and a high deflator and that's the worst combination. The idea of stagflation will not be far from the market's mind," said Steve Barrow, currency strategist at Bear Stearns. The euro shot up to $1.3682, its highest ever level while European stocks dipped further. The FTSEurofirst 300 index was down 0.7 percent. Continued... © Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved. | Learn more about Reuters < Previous 1 | 2 | 3 Next > investing.reuters.co.uk