The euro sprung past the key 1.30-dollar mark Tuesday to reach its highest level in about one month, while gold hit a new record. As European trading came to an end, the common European currency had climbed by more than 1 per cent to hit 1.3015 dollars in reaction to fresh data from the United States that pointed to recovery continuing in the world's biggest economy, according to dpa. In a sense, the euro was picking up where it left off on Monday, when it posted its biggest one-day gain against the dollar in two months. This followed better-than-forecast Chinese economic data, which helped renew market confidence in the global economic outlook, and news that banks would be given more time than previously thought to comply with tough new capital rules. The euro rebounded Tuesday after tumbling earlier in the day, spurred by a key survey showing investor confidence plunging in Europe's economic engine, Germany. This coincided with signs of slowing growth in the 16-member eurozone. Industrial production stagnated in the currency bloc in July, the European Union's statistics office said Tuesday. Economic uncertainty also helped drive the gold price to a record high of 1,268 dollars in trading Tuesday. European shares turned in a more measured performance, with the benchmark Stoxx 600 nudging down 0.2 per cent to 266.40. This was despite modest gains on national bourses across Europe.
