Asian session: The euro slid against most of its major peers

The euro slid against most of its major peers before data next week that economists say will show a gauge of consumer confidence was near a three-year low and manufacturing continued to shrink in the 17-nation region. An index of household sentiment in the euro region was probably unchanged this month from June at minus 19.8, economists surveyed by Bloomberg News predict. The European Commission will release the figure on July 23. The index slid to minus 21.3 in December, the lowest since August 2009.

A gauge for manufacturing in the currency bloc is estimated to be at 45.3 in July, according to a separate survey. That’s below the 50 level that separates expansion from contraction and compares with a reading of 45.1 last month. London-based Markit Economics is scheduled to report the data on July 24.

Europe’s common currency was 0.2 percent from a more than three-year low versus the British pound after Spain’s borrowing costs surged at an auction yesterday, rekindling concern the region’s debt crisis is deepening. Spain sold five-year notes yesterday with an average yield of 6.459 percent, the highest since at least 2005, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The dollar strengthened against a majority of its 16 most-traded counterparts as Asian stocks fell, boosting demand for the U.S. currency as a haven.

EUR / USD: during the Asian session the pair was trading in range $1.2250-$1.2285.

GBP / USD: during the Asian session the pair was trading in range $1.5695-$1.5715.

USD / JPY: during the Asian session the pair rose to yesterday's high.

In Europe Friday, Eurozone finance ministers are due to finalise the details of the Spanish financial sector rescue plan. Scheduled European data sees Germany PPI data at 0600GMT, which is expected to come in at  -0.3% m/m and 1.8% y/y. UK data sees the 0830GMT release of the Public Sector Finances. US data is limited with just the 1400/1500GMT BLS State Unemployment and Mass Layoffs data, followed later on by the 2030GMT release of C&I loans data.