Investors continue to sell dollars, expecting Fed to act further to support weak US economy

Dollar continues to slide, at 5-month low vs euro

NEW YORK — The dollar hit another five-month low against the euro on Wednesday because of concerns that the Federal Reserve might take further action to boost the economy that would weigh on the dollar.

The euro rose to as high as $1.3647 Wednesday, its strongest point since mid-April. In late trading in New York, the euro was worth $1.3643, up from $1.3567 late Tuesday.

The euro has risen even as fears about the 16-nation eurozone’s debt crisis persist.

The Fed has signaled that it is ready to take more actions to support the faltering U.S. recovery. Many analysts expect the central bank to move this year to buy more Treasurys, lifting bond prices and lowering yields. That would make the U.S. currency less appealing to investors.

The dollar has declined broadly, not just against the euro, in September. A measure of the dollar against six other heavily traded currencies is at its lowest level since January.

“The dollar’s slide is not over and bounces are expected to be shallow and short-lived,” said currency analysts from Brown Brothers Harriman in a research note Wednesday.

In other trading Wednesday, the dollar was almost flat at 83.62 Japanese yen from 83.93 Japanese yen, while the British pound was nearly unchanged at $1.5795 from $1.5793.

The dollar edged down to 1.0305 Canadian dollars from 1.0311 Canadian dollars. It was almost unchanged at 0.9768 Swiss francs from 0.9767 Swiss francs, after earlier in the day notching its most recent 2 1/2 year low at 0.9735 Swiss francs.