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NEW YORK: The deepening global financial crisis on Monday pushed the euro below 1.35 dollars and drove the yen higher against the euro and dollar.
The euro was at 1.3523 dollars around 2100 GMT, down sharply from 1.3781 late Friday.
In earlier trade, the single European currency sank to 1.3441 dollars, its lowest level in more than 14 months.
The yen surged meanwhile on the relatively low cost of borrowing in Japan.
The euro dived to 137.75 yen from 145.16 late Friday, after having reached its lowest level since September 2005 at 135.01 yen.
The dollar also tumbled against the Japanese currency, to 101.87 yen from 105.27 on Friday. It early hit a seven-month low of 100.24 yen.
"Financial markets remain under stress and there is a growing concern that the 700-billion-dollar rescue plan approved by the US Congress will fail to restore investor's confidence in the global financial system," said Antonio Sousa at Forex Capital Markets.
While the dollar benefited from congressional passage of a US financial bailout package, the euro suffered from the spreading financial crisis in Europe.
The single European currency also was undermined by the lack of cohesion among European Union ministers on a pan-European plan to rescue banks.
After a weekend summit of the EU leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Italy in Paris, member states' leaders issued a joint statement on Monday vowing to defend banks but remained divided on a US-style bailout fund.
"This is precisely why investors have become nervous over the capabilities of European officials to deal with the credit crunch in a coordinated, EU wide manner," said Andrew Busch at BMO Capital Markets.
"Each action appears to be country-centric with no over-arching solution like in the United States."
European governments appeared divided on whether guaranteeing all deposits was the best way to safeguard confidence, and the EU commission called on member states for better coordination.
In late New York trade, the dollar rose to 1.1464 Swiss francs from 1.1287 late Friday.
The pound slipped to 1.7455 dollars from 1.7722. - AFP/de
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