The euro's relentless rise set the scene for talks today between euro zone finance ministers and European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet.
After failed attempts by European politicians to talk up the yen in recent weeks, the dollar also lost ground against the euro today, compounding the price competition that European exporters face in world markets.
Ministers from the 13 euro zone countries meet in Brussels for monthly talks attended by Mr Trichet, and tomorrow their counterparts from the rest of the 27-nation European Union will join them.
This is the first such meeting since Germany, France and Italy sought political backing from other G7 industrial powers two weeks ago for an end to the yen's slide of the past five years, which has been much heavier versus the euro than against the dollar.
But they got short shrift from the United States and the financial markets, with the yen continuing to plumb new record depths last week against the euro despite an interest rate rise by the Bank of Japan.
The dollar slid today to a two-month low versus the euro as higher ECB interest rates looked like the only sure thing, making the euro more attractive to investors than the yen or the dollar.
Mr Trichet and the rest of the ECB's Governing Council may come under increasing pressure to hold fire on rate rises in the coming months as a result, not least because of signs that euro zone inflation is easing off.