BLBG:Euro Gains for a Third Day Versus Dollar, Strengthens Against Swiss Franc
The euro rose for a third day against the dollar and was stronger versus the Swiss franc as European stock markets pared gains.
Europe’s common currency had its first back-to-back advance versus its Swiss peer this month. The pound fell against all 16 of its most actively traded counterparts as minutes of the Bank of England’s May 5 policy meeting showed the majority of officials said tightening policy could hurt the recovery. Sweden’s krona climbed as the country said it would have a larger budget surplus than previously forecast this year.
“There’s clearly some degree of relief and that’s being shown in the euro,” said Jane Foley, a senior currency strategist at Rabobank International in London. “There are certainly signs of stability, though there are still jittery undertones, which are going to make the market vulnerable.”
The euro gained 0.1 percent to $1.4249 as of 6:56 a.m. in New York, after earlier appreciating 0.4 percent to $1.4287. The 17-nation euro strengthened 0.2 percent to 1.2553 Swiss francs. The dollar weakened 0.4 percent to 81.03 yen. The euro fetched 115.45 yen, from 115.91 yesterday.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.2 percent after earlier advancing as much as 0.7 percent. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index increased 1.1 percent today, snapping a four-day decline, while Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures rose 0.4 percent.
Sterling dropped 0.6 percent to 88.11 pence per euro and was 0.5 percent weaker versus the dollar at $1.6173. The krona climbed for a third day, appreciating 0.5 percent to 6.2945 against the dollar.
To contact the reporters on this story: Lukanyo Mnyanda in Edinburgh at lmnyanda@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Daniel Tilles at dtilles@bloomberg.net