BLBG:Euro Strengthens Third Day Amid Crisis-Deal Optimism; Dollar Index Falls
The euro rose for a third day versus the dollar and the yen amid optimism European leaders will come up with a solution to the debt crisis at a summit this weekend.
The shared currency reversed earlier losses after European Commission President Jose Barroso said a “positive outcome” was possible at the Oct. 23 meeting in Brussels. The euro fell earlier amid reports policy makers were divided over the role of the European Central Bank, which has rejected using its balance sheet to bolster the 440 billion-euro ($607 billion) European Financial Stability Facility. The Dollar Index fell as European stocks trimmed losses.
“There’s a lot of volatility in the market before the meeting this weekend,” said Lee Hardman, a foreign-exchange strategist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in London. “The market is looking for anything to reinforce its hope that we are going to see a comprehensive plan that will help ease the tensions.”
The euro advanced 0.4 percent to $1.3808 at 10:53 a.m. London time, after falling as much as 0.6 percent. The 17-nation currency gained 0.3 percent to 106.04 yen. Japan’s currency was little changed at 76.78 per dollar.
The Dollar Index, which IntercontinentalExchange Inc. uses to track the greenback against the currencies of six U.S. trading partners, dropped 0.3 percent to 76.822.
Finance chiefs from the Group of 20 nations have urged Europe’s leaders to act “decisively” to resolve the debt crisis that has roiled international markets. The policy makers are searching for ways to maximize the firepower of their bailout fund as the crisis threatens to spread to the region’s larger economies.
To contact the reporters on this story: Emma Charlton in London at echarlton1@bloomberg.net; Candice Zachariahs in Sydney at czachariahs2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Daniel Tilles at dtilles@bloomberg.net