The dollar rose versus the euro as investors sought haven assets amid concern President Barack Obama’s talks with lawmakers to avert the so-called fiscal cliff will stall. The Dollar Index (DXY) headed for its fourth weekly advance before a report economists said will show U.S. industrial production expanded at a slower pace last month. The yen rallied from the weakest level since April against the dollar amid speculation this week’s drop was too rapid. Switzerland’s franc trimmed a weekly advance against the dollar after Swiss National Bank President Thomas Jordan said the currency remains high, putting a strain on the economy. Obama “is meeting congressional leaders today and those discussions are unlikely to get anywhere on resolving the fiscal cliff,� said Michael Derks, chief strategist at FxPro Group Ltd. in London. “Bids for the dollar will continue because of risk aversion related to this.� The dollar climbed 0.3 percent to $1.2740 per euro at 9:06 a.m. London time. It fell 0.2 percent to 81 yen, paring a weekly advance to 1.9 percent. The greenback touched 81.46 yen yesterday, the strongest level since April 25. The Japanese currency gained 0.5 percent to 103.20 per euro following a 1.5 percent drop yesterday, the biggest slide since Sept. 14. The Dollar Index, which is used to track the greenback versus the currencies of six U.S. trading partners, rose 0.2 percent to 81.159, extending its weekly advance to 0.2 percent. Switzerland’s franc fell 0.4 percent to 94.54 centimes per dollar, trimming its weekly advance to 0.4 percent. Short-Term Shock If the U.S. Congress doesn’t act by the end of the year, $607 billion in spending cuts and tax increases are scheduled to take effect starting in January, while the $16.4 trillion debt ceiling must be raised before it’s reached early next year for the nation to continue to borrow. Obama will sit down with Democratic and Republican congressional leaders today for an opening round of talks. Lawmakers of both parties want to avoid a short-term shock to the economy while making progress on long-term deficit reduction. The dollar has advanced 1.6 percent in the past month, according to Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes, which track 10 developed-nation currencies. The yen dropped 1.4 percent and the euro fell 1 percent. To contact the reporters on this story: Emma Charlton in London at echarlton1@bloomberg.net; Monami Yui in Tokyo at myui1@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Dobson at pdobson2@bloomberg.net.

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