The European single currency jumped to a historic high of 1.3682 dollars in afternoon trade here on Friday after new data revealed a marked slowdown in US economic growth.

The record -- which beat the previous pinnacle of 1.3666 dollars that was set on December 30, 2004 -- was caused by expectations of higher interest rates in the eurozone as the European economy outpaces the United States, analysts said.

The United States economy expanded at a worse-than-expected 1.3 percent rate in the first quarter, marking the slowest period of growth in four years, the US government announced Friday.

Growth in the world's biggest economy weakened notably, amid a widespread housing slump, following expansion of 2.5 percent in the prior quarter.

The first snapshot of 2007 growth disappointed most Wall Street analysts who had anticipated growth of at least 1.8 percent.

"Overall, this is clearly a disappointing data which will most likely trigger fresh weakness in the dollar," said Audrey Childe-Freeman, currency analyst at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in London.

The European single currency also struck a new record peak against its Japanese counterpart, hitting 162.88 yen following the US data.

Both high points were based on expectations that strong European growth would lead to further interest rate rises for the 13-nation eurozone.

"With global growth signals continuing to signal strong momentum building in Europe and Asia while the US lags, the dollar continues to struggle," said ABN Amro currency analyst Peter Frank.

"European currencies generally remain key outperformers, on the back of a continuous stream of upbeat growth news out of Germany and the UK leading direction."

The European Central Bank was widely forecast to hike borrowing costs to 4.00 percent in June.

Across the Atlantic, weak American data -- particularly on the housing sector -- was expected to force the US Federal Reserve to trim rates from the current level of 5.25 percent.

That would make eurozone assets even more attractive, enticing currency investors to switch to euros and ditch the troubled dollar.

"Economic news in the US is not getting any better and more worryingly continues to disappoint already low market expectations," said Calyon analyst Mitul Kotecha.

The euro was also boosted this week by news that business confidence in Germany continued to climb in April as the country's booming economy, the biggest in the eurozone, was bolstered by international investment.

The European single currency -- the common currency of the European Union -- was born on January 1, 1999.

The 12 countries which joined from its inception were: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.

Slovenia joined on January 1, 2007, following its admittance to the EU in 2004, becoming the first former communist state to adopt the euro.

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