American focus: dollar and franc gained, euro declined

The Swiss franc rose against all of its major counterparts on demand for a refuge as European leaders struggled to agree on a solution to the region’s debt crisis before a summit this weekend.

The euro fell versus the dollar on speculation the Oct. 23 meeting may be delayed or a second session may be held. The franc remained 2.5 percent below the ceiling of 1.20 versus the euro imposed last month by the Swiss National Bank. The dollar advanced versus the yen for the first time in four days as Philadelphia manufacturing unexpectedly expanded.

The franc appreciated for the first time in three days versus the euro, rising 1 percent to 1.2298 at 1:03 p.m. in New York. The euro declined 0.4 percent to $1.3702 and decreased 0.3 percent to 105.41 yen. The U.S. currency rose 0.2 percent to 76.93 yen.

The Swiss currency was the biggest winner today among the 10 developed-nation currencies that are tracked by Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Currency Indexes, rising 0.9 percent. The euro dropped 0.3 percent, and the yen fell 0.2 percent.

The dollar rose versus the yen after the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s general economic index increased to 8.7 in October from minus 17.5 last month in the biggest one-month rebound in 31 years.

Japan plans to spend an extra 4 trillion yen ($52 billion) to cope with a surging yen that could damp an export-led recovery in the world’s third-largest economy. The yen’s appreciation of almost 6 percent this year versus the dollar has prompted the government to adopt a multipronged approach to currency policy. While threatening intervention, Japanese authorities have offered aid to companies hit by the yen’s gain and highlighted the lower cost of making overseas acquisitions. Japan imports about 80 percent of its energy needs. The Bank of Japan has intervened in the currency market three times in the past 13 months.