American focus: euro rose

The euro gained for a fifth day against the dollar, the longest streak in three months, after European Union Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said Greece was “close” to reaching agreement with its creditors. The 17-nation currency extended gains after a report showed U.S. consumer confidence this month was the highest in almost a year. The euro was supported as Italy sold bills, benefitting the European Central Bank’s efforts to fight the spread of the debt crisis by shoring up banks.

The Dollar Index headed for its second weekly decline after the Federal Reserve’s pledge to keep interest rates low for at least three more years. The dollar strengthened earlier after U.S. gross domestic product climbed at a 2.8 percent annual following a 1.8 percent gain in the prior quarter, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. The U.S. currency headed for a weekly loss against all 16 of its major counterparts as the Fed’s pledge to keep interest rates near zero percent until the end of 2014 spurred investors to search for yield. The Dollar Index, which tracks the U.S. currency against those of six trading partners, declined for a third day, dropping 0.5 percent to 78.977.

The yen rose against all its 16 most-traded counterparts. It added 0.8 percent to 81.67 versus the Australian dollar and jumped 0.7 percent to 63.19 against New Zealand’s currency as technical indicators showed the Japanese currency may have fallen too far, too quickly.