Asian session: the euro rose

00:30 Australia Gross Domestic Product (QoQ) Quarter III +1.2% +1.2% +1.0%  

00:30 Australia Gross Domestic Product (YoY) Quarter III +1.4% +2.3% +2.5%

The euro rose against the majority of its 16 main counterparts amid speculation Europe will expand funds available to the region’s most-indebted nations as leaders prepare to meet in Brussels tomorrow.

The 17-nation euro snapped a three-day decline versus the yen after the Financial Times reported yesterday that Europe may combine temporary and planned permanent rescue facilities to bolster its bailout resources. The European Central Bank is forecast to cut interest rates tomorrow. The euro rose 0.3 percent. U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner yesterday backed a German-French push for closer European cooperation, urging policy makers to work with central banks to erect a “stronger firewall” to end the crisis.

Losses in the dollar were limited on speculation the euro area will need time to defuse its crisis and Japan will face the risk of a credit-rating downgrade, increasing demand for the greenback as a refuge.

Standard & Poor’s is “closer to a downgrade” of Japan’s AA- rating. Japan-based Rating & Investment Information Inc., which has rated the nation at AAA since 2000,  it may cut the ranking by year-end

Australia’s dollar rose against most major peers after a report showed the nation’s economy grew faster than estimated last quarter. The so-called Aussie dollar advanced as signs of resilience in the U.S. and Australian economies supported demand for higher-yielding assets.

EUR/USD: on Asian session the pair rose.

GBP/USD: on Asian session the pair advanced.

USD/JPY: on Asian session  the pair traded in range Y77.60-Y77.80.