Asian session: The yen headed

00:00 Australia Conference Board Australia Leading Index July +0.2% +0.0%

03:00 New Zealand Credit Card Spending August +0.1% +1.9%

The yen headed for a weekly gain against most major peers as signs of a global economic slowdown spurred demand for the refuge of Japan’s currency. Reports yesterday showed a composite index for manufacturing and services industries in the euro area dropped to a three-year low and a factory output gauge in China signaled contraction for an 11th month.

The euro was poised for the biggest five-day decline since July against the greenback before data next week forecast to show German business sentiment remained near the lowest in more than two years. The Ifo institute in Munich will probably say its business climate index, based on a survey of 7,000 executives, was at 102.8 this month from 102.3 in August, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News before the data on Sept. 24. Last month’s reading was the lowest since March 2010.

Losses in the euro were limited before Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy meets his Italian counterpart Mario Monti today in Rome. The Financial Times reported that Spanish and European Union officials were working on plans to trigger European Central Bank bond purchases.

The plan will be announced on Sept. 27 and will focus on structural reforms to the Spanish economy requested by the EU, rather than new taxes and spending cuts, the newspaper said yesterday, citing officials involved in the talks.

The International Monetary Fund will cut economic forecasts for the global economy “by a few decimal points,” a fund official said yesterday.