The euro fell toward its lowest in more than a week before reports that may show Europe’s debt crisis is hurting sentiment in the region. The 17-nation euro dropped for a sixth-consecutive day against the yen before data forecast to show French business confidence worsened, while Italian consumer sentiment stagnated. The yen touched a one-week high versus the dollar as Asian stocks fell, spurring demand for Japan’s currency as a refuge. Australia’s dollar pared losses from yesterday as a leading indicator for China’s economy rose in August, supporting trade prospects for the South Pacific nation. “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. “Sentiment is probably going to keep the euro a little bit heavy.� The euro lost 0.3 percent to $1.2898 at 6:58 a.m. in London from yesterday, when it reached $1.2891, the least since Sept. 13. It dropped 0.4 percent to 100.32. Japan’s currency fetched 77.78 per dollar after earlier touching 77.75, the strongest since Sept. 14. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index of equities lost as much as 0.3 percent. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (SPX) dropped 0.2 percent yesterday. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slid 0.4 percent. 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 German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, said yesterday Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy must stop prevaricating. European Union President Herman Van Rompuy warned against “losing the sense of urgency� in fighting the crisis three years after it erupted in Greece, speaking in a video posted on his website yesterday. French industrial confidence probably fell to 89 this month from 90 in August, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News before the national statistics office Insee releases the report today. That would match the figure reached in July, which was the lowest since February 2010. Consumer confidence in Italy is estimated to remain at 86 this month, according to a separate poll. Second Worst The euro dropped 3.4 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 6.2 percent. The dollar lost 0.3 percent. Japan is preparing to appoint the country’s fifth finance minister in three years after Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda yesterday named current Finance Minister Jun Azumi acting secretary-general of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan. Azumi will keep his post for the time being, Noda said. Azumi told reporters today speculation that a change in his ministry’s leadership will lead to a vacancy in currency policy is mistaken. The yen may become volatile, but over the mid- to long-term, the Bank of Japan (8301)’s easing will have an effect on the currency, Azumi said. Azumi Replacement Japan’s central bank unexpectedly increased its asset- purchase fund to 55 trillion yen ($707 billion) at its meeting last week. 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 $1.0420 and 82.24 U.S. cents, respectively. The dollar is set for a decline versus most of its 16 major counterparts this quarter as expanded central bank stimulus and improving sentiment over U.S. growth prompts investors to seek higher-yielding assets. The Conference Board’s index of consumer confidence in the world’s biggest economy probably rose to 63.2 in September from 60.6 in August, based on a Bloomberg News survey of economists before today’s report. An index from S&P/Case-Shiller due today may show home prices in 20 U.S. cities rose 1.1 percent in July from the year-before period, the most since August 2010, according to a separate survey. “It’s going to be a pretty stable environment for the near-term, which probably lends itself to a bit of dollar weakness,� said Greg Gibbs, a senior currency strategist at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc in Singapore. To contact the reporters on this story: Kristine Aquino in Singapore at kaquino1@bloomberg.net; Monami Yui in Tokyo at myui1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Rocky Swift at rswift5@bloomberg.net

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