By Stuart Wallace March 31 (Bloomberg) -- The yen weakened toward an eight- week low against the euro on speculation a rebound in U.S. jobs will underpin the global recovery. Greek bonds dropped on concern the nation will struggle to fund its record deficit. The yen fell against all 16 of its most-traded counterparts as of 10:35 a.m. in London. The yield premium investors demand to hold Greek 10-year bonds instead of benchmark German bunds rose to the highest level since Feb. 25 and the Athens Stock Exchange’s benchmark index declined for a third day. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.3 percent, while futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index retreated 0.1 percent. Turkey’s lira rose 0.5 percent as the economy exited recession. U.S. companies may have added 40,000 jobs this month, the most since December 2007, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists before an ADP Employer Services report. The government’s payroll numbers are due April 2. Turkey followed the U.K. and Canada in announcing better-than-forecast economic growth, with a 6 percent expansion in the fourth quarter. “In an environment where the global economy seems to be recovering and stock markets are not providing any cause for concern, the yen is not in demand as a safe haven,” strategists led by Ulrich Leuchtmann at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt wrote in a note to clients. “Under these circumstances, higher-yielding currencies are more in demand.” Dollar Index The yen fell 0.5 percent to 93.25 per dollar, leaving it little changed in the first quarter. The Japanese currency depreciated 0.7 percent to 125.36 against the euro, trimming an advance since Dec. 31 to 6.3 percent. The Dollar Index, which tracks the U.S. currency’s performance against six trading partners including the yen, the euro and the pound, slipped 0.2 percent to 81.337. The rand advanced for a fourth day, gaining 0.7 percent against the dollar, as economists predicted a government report today will show South Africa’s trade deficit narrowed in February. Greek bonds fell, with the yield on the 10-year bond rising 9 basis points to 6.60 percent. The difference in yield, or spread, with bunds widened 12 basis points to 345 basis points. The seven-year note, the first security sold by the government since the European Union and the International Monetary agreed on potential aid last week, extended declines in its second day of trading. The yield climbed to 6.44 percent, from 6 percent when the security was issued on March 29. Greek Borrowing Greece needs to borrow 11.6 billion euros ($15.6 billion) before the end of May after April funding was “taken care of,” Petros Christodoulou, director general of the Public Debt Management Agency, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. Ireland’s benchmark ISEQ Index surged 1.2 percent as the National Asset Management Agency announced details of its plan to revive the financial system. Bank of Ireland Plc jumped 27 percent after saying it expects to avoid state control by raising most of its 2.7 billion-euro target for capital from private investors. Credit-default swaps protecting Bank of Ireland bonds fell 7 basis points to 191, Anglo Irish Bank Plc dropped 3 basis points to 348 and Allied Irish Bank declined 6 basis points to 196, according to CMA DataVision prices. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.3 percent, heading for the longest stretch of quarterly gains since 2007. Irish banks led the advance, and British Sky Broadcasting Plc climbed 2.8 percent after the U.K. market regulator decided to limit a requirement for the pay-television provider to offer its channels to competitors. Futures on the S&P 500 Index slipped as the benchmark gauge for U.S. equities heads for a fourth straight quarterly increase. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.6 percent, the steepest retreat in a week. Platinum advanced 1.5 percent to $1,643 an ounce in London, extending its gain this year to 12 percent, and palladium added 1.8 percent to $479.45 an ounce. Crude oil rose 0.2 percent to $82.55 a barrel in New York trading, heading for a quarterly advance of 4.1 percent. To contact the reporter for this story: Stuart Wallace in London at swallace6@bloomberg.net

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