The euro rose from within 0.5 percent of an 11-month low against the dollar after the Ifo institute’s business climate index unexpectedly increased in December and borrowing costs plunged at a Spanish bill sale. The U.S. currency slipped against all its 16 major peers amid signs the economic outlook may be stabilizing. Sweden’s krona appreciated after the nation’s central bank cut interest rates less than some analysts had forecast. Australia’s dollar rose as the Reserve Bank said “solid growth� among trading partners had tempered the need for lower rates. The pound gained as U.K. consumer confidence unexpectedly increased. Economists estimated a report will show housing starts in the U.S. climbed last month. “The Ifo index for Germany certainly surprised to the upside,� said Ulrich Leuchtmann, head of currency strategy at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt. “This is good news for the euro.� The 17-nation euro climbed 0.7 percent to $1.3082 at 10:42 a.m. London time, after falling to as low as $1.2946 on Dec. 14, the least since Jan. 11. Europe’s common currency strengthened 0.4 percent to 101.87 yen. The dollar slipped 0.2 percent to 77.87 yen. The Ifo institute’s index, based on a survey of 7,000 executives, rose to 107.2 from 106.6 in November, the Munich- based institute said today. Economists expected a drop to 106, the median of 36 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey showed. Spanish Auction Spain sold 5.64 billion euros of three-month and six-month bills, the Bank of Spain said, compared with a maximum target of 4.5 billion euros the Treasury had set for the sale. The average yield on the three-month debt dropped to 1.735 percent, compared with 5.110 percent when the securities were last issued on Nov. 22, and the average six-month yield fell to 2.435 percent from 5.227 percent last month. European finance ministers boosted their anti-crisis efforts by pledging extra resources for the International Monetary Fund. The Australian dollar rose 0.9 percent to 99.84 U.S. cents after the central bank released minutes of its last meeting when it cut rates for a second-straight month. Reserve Bank of Australia policy makers saw a continued expansion in the domestic economy even as Europe’s debt crisis weighs on global growth, the minutes showed. Sweden’s seven-day repo rate was lowered a quarter point to 1.75 percent, the Stockholm-based Riksbank said today. The move was predicted by 11 of 24 analysts in a Bloomberg survey, while two had forecast a half point cut. The krona strengthened 0.9 percent to 6.8709 per U.S. dollar. The pound advanced 0.9 percent to $1.5634 after Nationwide Building Society’s index of sentiment increased to 40 from 36 in October. Housing starts in the U.S. increased 1.1 percent last month from October when they declined 0.3 percent, according to economist estimates before the Commerce Department releases the figures today. Consumer spending rose in November, adding 0.3 percent, another survey of economists showed before the government report due Dec. 23. To contact the reporter 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

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