American focus: euro rose

The euro rose against most of its 16 major peers after two central bank officials said European Central Bank President Mario Draghi will announce unlimited sterilized bond buying to quell the region’s debt crisis.

The 17-nation currency climbed to a two-month high against the dollar last week amid optimism Draghi would announce additional monetary stimulus at tomorrow’s ECB meeting.

Under the ECB blueprint, which may be called “Monetary Outright Transactions,” the ECB would refrain from setting a public cap on yields, according to the central bankers, and a third official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The plan will only focus on government bonds rather than a broader range of assets and will target short-dated maturities of up to about three years, two of the people said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told lawmakers she can accept temporary ECB bond buying, according to a member of her party. German legislator Norbert Barthle said in Berlin that Merkel spoke in a closed-door meeting of Christian Democratic Union lawmakers.

Germany’s Constitutional Court is set to rule on the legality of the European Stability Mechanism, the euro region’s permanent bailout fund, on Sept. 12. The ECB may delay giving full details of Draghi’s bond-buying plan until after the ruling, two central bank officials said on Aug. 24.

Australia’s currency dropped to a seven-week low after the economy expanded less than forecast.