Forex: Weekly’s review

On Monday the euro weakened after German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman said Europe’s leaders won’t provide the quick resolution to the region’s debt crisis that global policy makers are pushing for at a summit this weekend. The pound declined versus the dollar and the yen on concern the Bank of England’s additional stimulus measures won’t be enough to revive growth.

On Tuesday the Australian dollar rose against the U.S. currency as a rally in stocks and commodities spurred demand for higher-yielding assets. The yen erased its gain versus the dollar after the Nikkei newspaper reported that the government and central bank will form a team of senior officials to oversee steps designed to address the currency’s strength. 

On Wednesday main news related to the emerging information on the decisions of the European leaders of the agreement to extend the fund EFSF. The euro rose on speculations of reaching agreement between France and Germany on the expansion ESFS to 2 trillion euros. Sterling rose for the first time in three days, advancing to $1.5845 on speculation a resolution to Europe’s debt crisis will help boost Britain’s economy. Bank of England policy makers voted unanimously to expand the size of their asset-purchase stimulus this month, according to minutes of their Oct. 6 meeting released. 

On Thursday the euro fell versus the dollar on speculation the Oct. 23 meeting may be delayed or a second session may be held. 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 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. 

On Friday the dollar fell to a post-World War II low against the yen and dropped versus most currencies on speculation Europe is moving closer to resolving its debt crisis and the Federal Reserve may seek further monetary easing. Investors sold dollars before meetings in Europe this weekend after increasing bets last week to the most in more than a year that the U.S. currency would rally. The euro advanced for a fourth day against the dollar, in the longest stretch of gains since July, before two European summits over the next five days. The euro rose against the dollar today as German officials said there are several possible ways of involving the International Monetary Fund to boost the firepower of the European Financial Stability Facility, the region’s rescue fund, to fight the euro-region debt crisis.