US focus: Euro gains most in almost six weeks on Japan pledge to buy European bonds

The euro rallied the most against the yen in almost six weeks as Japan planned to buy bonds issued by Europe’s financial-aid funds, joining China in assisting the region as it confronts its debt crisis. The euro also gained versus the New Zealand dollar and the South African rand as Japan’s Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said it’s appropriate for his nation to help nations such as Ireland.

“Japan is acting to support the euro,” said Jessica Hoversen, analyst at the futures broker MF Global Holdings Ltd. “You’ve had the euro zone trying to solve the debt crisis. Now it looks as though we need multilateral support. The Chinese and Japanese efforts to purchase debt are the first steps toward that.”
Europe’s financial aid funds for distressed governments will sell bonds to raise as much as 34.1 billion euros ($44.2 billion) for Ireland in 2011 and 14.9 billion euros in 2012, the European Commission said last month.
Australia’s dollar fell against all of its most-traded counterparts as rising floodwaters rushed toward the coastal city of Brisbane, where evacuations were under way.
The greenback rose versus the yen for the first time in three days before figures expected to show the world’s largest economy is recovering.
U.S. retail sales climbed 0.8% last month, the same amount as in November, according to the median forecast of economists. The report from the Commerce Department is due Jan. 14.