The Swiss franc appreciated against all 16 of its most-traded peers as investors sought the safest assets amid speculation a meeting of finance ministers will struggle to resolve the euro area’s debt crisis. The franc rose from its weakest level against the dollar since April 20. The yen strengthened as equities and crude oil declined, while U.S. Treasuries advanced. New Zealand’s dollar fell for a second day as investors sold higher-yielding assets. “You could argue that the Swiss franc is going up because there’s greater concern about the euro periphery,” said Daragh Maher, deputy head of global foreign exchange strategy at Credit Agricole CIB in London. “There doesn’t seem to be much conviction to euro buying. People are still very nervous.” The franc appreciated 0.5 percent against the euro to 1.2546 as of 6:36 a.m. in New York, and strengthened 0.5 percent to 88.81 centimes per dollar. It earlier depreciated 0.3 percent to 89.51 centimes, the weakest since April 20. The euro was little changed at $1.4125 from $1.4119 on May 13. It earlier dropped to $1.4048, the weakest since March 29. The euro traded at 114.08 yen from 114.06. The U.S. currency was little changed at 80.78 yen. The euro has dropped 0.9 percent over the past month in a measure of the currencies of 10 developed nations, according to Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Currency Indexes. It’s slipped 2.1 percent against the dollar as yields for the region’s most- indebted nations jumped amid heightened concern the countries may struggle to repay their debt. The yen has gained 4.8 percent in the period, while the dollar is up 1.5 percent. Brussels Meeting Ministers will discuss Greece’s predicament at meetings starting at 3 p.m. in Brussels today. Also on the agenda are approval of 78 billion euros ($110 billion) in aid for Portugal, and the nomination of Bank of Italy Governor Mario Draghi to be the next president of the European Central Bank. Any extension of the maturities of Greek bonds would have to involve private investors, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said in an interview with ARD television yesterday. “Debt restructuring is not in the cards,” European Commission spokesman Amadeu Altafaj told reporters in Brussels today. Nemat Shafik, a deputy managing director at the International Monetary Fund, will represent the institution at the Brussels meeting after Managing Director Dominique Strauss- Kahn was charged with attempted rape in New York. Strauss-Kahn denies the charges. Futures traders decreased their bets that the euro will gain against the dollar, May 13 figures from the Washington- based Commodity Futures Trading Commission show. Euro Inflation The difference in the number of wagers by hedge funds and other large speculators on an advance in the euro compared with those on a drop was 61,447 on May 10, compared with so-called net longs of 99,516 a week earlier, the data showed. The euro was little changed against the dollar after a report that showed inflation in the 17-nation currency bloc increased to a 2.8 percent rate in April, confirming an initial forecast. Accelerating growth in Europe is an indication that efforts to contain the area’s debt crisis haven’t derailed demand, said Bank of France Governor Christian Noyer. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Dennis Lockhart said it’s too early to consider an exit from stimulus. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note increased one basis point to 3.16 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index of shares declined 0.8 percent, and futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slid 0.4 percent. Crude oil dropped 1.7 percent. Kiwi Decline New Zealand’s dollar dropped 1.1 percent to 77.90 U.S. cents, and was 1.1 percent weaker at 62.91 yen, as investors pared demand for assets correlated to commodity prices. The pound, the worst performer after the dollar over the past three months, shows few signs of rebounding from a 35-year low as slowing growth keeps the Bank of England from lifting interest rates to curb inflation. While the central bank said on May 11 that inflation may accelerate to 5 percent this year, money markets indicate no boost in borrowing costs until January. As recently as February, traders were betting on an increase this month. Currency strategists are cutting forecasts for the pound by the most since 2009, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The pound fell 1 percent last week to $1.6197 and strengthened 0.4 percent versus the euro to 87.17 pence. It traded at $1.6184 and 87.25 pence per euro today. To contact the reporters on this story: Paul Dobson in London at pdobson2@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Daniel Tilles at dtilles@bloomberg.net.

Source