US The dollar plummeted to record lows and the price of gold touched $1,000 on Thursday as retail sales figures confirmed that the US is in recession and concern intensified about spreading distress in the hedge fund sector.
In a turbulent day of trading, the US dollar tumbled against the yen, breaking through Y100 to the dollar for the first time since 1995, before recovering to Y100.79. The euro moved to record highs above $1.56 – at which point Goldman Sachs estimated that the eurozone had overtaken the US as the world’s biggest economy measured by market exchange rates – before easing slightly.
