Midday trade in New York: euro slides to five-week low versus dollar

The euro tumbled to a five-week low against the dollar on Thursday and further losses were seen likely as a round of bond issues next week by peripheral eurozone economies raised concern about their high debt levels.
Magnifying the euro's fall was continued outperformance of the dollar amid optimism about the US economy, which is expected to report on Friday job gains of 175,000 for December, according to a Reuters poll. Some in the market are expecting employment gains of as much as 500,000.
In midday New York trading, the euro was down 1 percent at $1.3017 The euro also slid below its 200-day moving average around $1.3081, which accelerated its decline, with the currency falling as low as $1.3005. The dollar slipped 0.1 percent against the yen to 83.17, which many traders believed was just a temporary blip.