By Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The dollar weakened slightly from 5-week highs Wednesday. It’s been gaining steadily since the start of the month. On Wednesday, the 16-nation euro rose to $1.4714 in late New York trading from $1.4685 late Tuesday. Earlier in the session, the euro fell as low as $1.4670, its weakest point since Oct. 5. The euro has dropped as much as 4 cents against the dollar this month, as investors are locking in the gains they’ve already made on the euro’s rise this year, said Joseph Trevisani, chief market analyst at FXSolutions. The dollar has also gotten a boost from concerns over European countries’ public finances and higher expectations for the Federal Reserve to hike rates sooner, he said. Higher interest rates can boost a currency as investors transfer funds to where they expect to earn higher returns. The British pound dipped to $1.6248 from $1.6261 as U.K. Treasury chief Alistair Darling downgraded his forecast for the British economy in 2009. He also said he expects the British government to borrow slightly more next year than he previously thought. Earlier this week, Moody’s Investors Service said the U.K. must fix its public finances in order to avoid threats to its top triple-A credit rating.

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