Dollar falls versus euro in London

The dollar stayed close to a 7-month low hit against the euro on Wednesday, with weak sentiment persisting after minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest meeting signalled US interest rates were near their peak.
The dollar also briefly slipped to a fresh three-month low versus the Swiss franc and a 2-1/2 month low against sterling, pressured by the minutes as well as by softer than expected data for US producer prices and housing starts.
The minutes from the March 27-28 policy meeting released on Tuesday said: "Most members thought that the end of the tightening process was likely to be near and some expressed concerns about the dangers of tightening too much, given the lags in the effects of policy."
At the meeting, the first under new Chairman Ben Bernanke, the Fed raised the overnight rate to 4.75 percent, its 15th quarter percentage point increase in as many meetings since June 2004.
"The data since the minutes has been fairly consistent with them. The core inflation numbers have if anything supported what they were thinking at the time...and the PPI data was quite weak - supporting a more dovish take on things," Mellon Bank head of foreign exchange research Ian Gunner said.
The market still expects another rise at the next meeting in May, but the minutes trimmed prospects for a further tightening beyond that, analysts said.
By 1155 GMT, the euro was slightly lower on the day at $1.2333 after hitting a seven-month high of $1.2373 earlier.
The dollar bought 117.11 yen, steady on the day, while it also stood at 1.2718 Swiss francs after having slipped to 1.2667 francs, a three-month low.
Sterling hit a fresh 2-1/2 month high, extending the previous day's gains to $1.7878 after minutes from the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee's latest meeting showed a 7-1 vote to keep rates unchanged at 4.5 percent.
Elsewhere, the Icelandic crown hit a four-year low against the euro and a 2-1/2 year low against the dollar as local market trading opened after firm wage growth data ignited worries that the economy was overheating.