Goldman Sachs Slashes Euro Forecast, Sees Dollar Parity By September

The euro is poised to continue its sharp slide against the dollar and is on track to reach parity with the greenback in September, analysts at Goldman Sachs said on Friday. They downgraded their six-month euro forecast to $1, from $1.10 expected previously. They also slashed the three-month forecast to $1.02 from $1.12, and cut the 12-month outlook to 95 cents from $1.08. By the end of 2017, Goldman analysts see the euro sliding to 80 cents, which would be the lowest ever for the shared currency. "We therefore expect more downside in the near term, with the expected removal of 'patient' at next week's FOMC [meeting] a key catalyst," they said in the note. The euro traded at $1.0575 on Friday, down from $1.0637 late Thursday in New York.