The euro strengthened for a second day against the dollar after an industry report showed German business confidence unexpectedly increased in May, adding to optimism the region’s biggest economy is improving.
The 17-nation currency extended its biggest weekly advance in seven weeks as a separate report forecast German consumer sentiment will improve in June. The yen rose for a second day against the dollar after Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the central bank had announced sufficient monetary easing. The Australian dollar fell against all of its 16 major counterparts as HSBC Holdings and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. predicted it will weaken.
“The Ifo is crucial data for euro-dollar right now,” said Peter Frank, the global head of currency strategy at Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (BBVA) in London. “It’s the German economy that is going to be driving the euro-zone to the next level of improvement. It’s not going to come from anywhere else. The number wasn’t big but it was above consensus and that’s enough to push the euro higher.”
The euro advanced 0.2 percent to $1.2962 at 6:01 a.m. in New York, extending this week’s gain to 1 percent, the most since the period ended April 5. The shared currency weakened 0.2 percent to 131.68 yen. The yen appreciated 0.4 percent to 101.59 per dollar.
The Ifo institute’s German business climate index improved to 105.7 from 104.4 in April. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News (GRIFPBUS) predicted it would remain unchanged. GfK AG said its consumer-sentiment index will increase to 6.5 next month from 6.2 in May. That would be the highest since September 2007.
Yen Gains
The yen rose for a second day against the dollar after Kuroda said the BOJ will implement flexible money-market operations. He wants to avoid increasing volatility in bond markets, he said in parliament today.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average (NKY) gained 0.9 percent today after sliding as much as 3.5 percent. It tumbled 7.3 percent yesterday, the most since the aftermath of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
“The BOJ have done a huge amount and now they have to wait and see how its policy runs its course,” said Simon Smith, chief economist at FxPro Group Ltd. in London. “It’s relatively early on in its path and Kuroda was probably quite correct to not lead the market to expect more at this stage. A lot of people had been playing the weaker yen story through stocks, and it was always vulnerable for a correction.”
Worst Performer
The yen slumped 12 percent this year, the worst performer of 10 developed-nation currencies tracked by Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes, as the Bank of Japan doubled monthly bond purchases in April to end deflation. The euro gained 3.1 percent and the dollar advanced 5.1 percent.
The Australian dollar headed for a third weekly loss as HSBC reduced its forecast for the currency. The Aussie will fall to 90 U.S. cents by year-end, the bank said in a research note, compared with a previous forecast for 95.
Goldman Sachs said yesterday it remained bearish on the Aussie, expecting it to weaken to 90 cents in 12 months.
Australia’s dollar fell 0.9 percent to 96.64 U.S. cents, set for a decline of 0.7 percent this week. It dropped to 95.94 yesterday, the lowest since June 1.
Markets in Singapore were shut today for a national holiday. Those in the U.S. and U.K. will be closed on May 27.
Source: Bloomberg