Euro rises to a 4-month high against the dollar

NEW YORK (AP) — The euro is continuing to rise against the dollar after the Federal Reserve said last week that it will launch another round of bond purchases to help boost the U.S. economy.

The euro rose as high as $1.3171 in trading Monday, its highest point against the dollar since May. The euro was worth $1.3117 late Friday.

The Fed said Thursday that it will spend $40 billion a month to buy mortgage-backed securities for as long as it deems necessary. Those purchases push interest rates lower and can weaken the dollar.

The British pound rose to $1.6263 from $1.6223.

The dollar rose to 78.68 Japanese yen from 78.30 Japanese yen.