The euro fell to the weakest level in more than a week versus the dollar as consumer sentiment in Europe’s biggest economy stagnated and before Italy and Spain auction debt today. The 17-nation euro dropped for a sixth day against the yen before German Chancellor Angela Merkel meets European Central Bank President Mario Draghi in Berlin today. Data showed German and French business confidence remained static as investors awaited a report on the Italian outlook. The yen touched a one- week high versus the dollar. Australia’s dollar pared losses from yesterday as a leading indicator for China’s economy rose in August, supporting trade prospects. “We’ve got no signs of a pickup or improvement in the euro zone,� said Ray Attrill, Sydney-based global co-head of currency strategy at National Australia Bank Ltd. (NAB) “Sentiment is probably going to keep the euro a little bit heavy.� The euro fell 0.1 percent to $1.2917 at 8:46 a.m. London time. It reached $1.2887, the least since Sept. 13. It dropped 0.2 percent to 100.48 yen. Japan’s currency traded at 77.79 per dollar after earlier touching 77.75, the strongest since Sept. 14. Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz said euro members will have to share debts and speed the creation of a banking union to prevent a situation in which “the whole system falls apart.� Spain has yet to indicate whether it needs a full rescue, and discussions between Greece and its lenders on how to meet bailout commitments remain inconclusive. Losing Urgency Michael Meister, finance spokesman for Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, said yesterday Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy must stop prevaricating. European Union President Herman Van Rompuy, speaking in a video posted on his website yesterday, warned against “losing the sense of urgency� in fighting the crisis three years after it erupted in Greece. The euro dropped 3.5 percent in the past six months, the worst performance after the Swiss franc among the 10 developed- nation currencies tracked by Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes. The yen was the biggest gainer, rising 6.1 percent. The dollar lost 0.5 percent. German consumer confidence will hold steady in October, GfK SE (GFK) said. The market-research company in Nuremberg forecast today that its consumer-sentiment index, based on a survey of about 2,000 people, will remain at 5.9 for a second-straight month, matching the median of 25 economist estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. The index was last higher in March 2011. French Data French industrial confidence was unchanged at 90 this month, near a two-year low, in the face of stalled growth and looming tax increases, according to Insee, the national statistics office in Paris. Consumer confidence in Italy is estimated to remain at 86 this month, according to a Bloomberg News survey of economists. Italy is scheduled to auction 5.5 billion euros of inflation-linked and zero-coupon bonds, while Spain will sell as much as 4 billion euros of 77- and 168-day bills. The Netherlands is due to auction up to 2.5 billion euros of bonds maturing in 2033. The Australian and New Zealand dollars pared declines after the Conference Board said its leading economic index for China rose 1.7 percent to 240.4 in August from the previous month. The so-called Aussie and New Zealand’s currency were little changed at $1.0433 and 82.54 U.S. cents, respectively. To contact the reporters on this story: Kristine Aquino in Singapore at kaquino1@bloomberg.net; Neal Armstrong in London at narmstrong8@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Rocky Swift at rswift5@bloomberg.net

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