
The following data were published:
10:00 Е15 Harmonized CPI (October) final 0.0%
10:00 Е15 Harmonized CPI (October) final Y/Y 3.2%
10:00 Е15 Harmonized CPI ex EFAT (October) Y/Y 1.9%
10:00 Е15 GDP (Q3) flash -0.2%
10:00 Е15 GDP (Q3) flash Y/Y 0.7%
The yen rose, heading for weekly gains against the dollar and the euro,
as signs of a deepening global economic slump prompted investors to
pare holdings of higher-yielding assets funded in Japan.
Japan's currency also climbed this week against the Australian and New
Zealand dollars on speculation a Group of 20 nations summit starting
today will fail to reach a consensus on resolving the credit crisis.
The euro headed for a weekly drop after a government report showed
Europe's economy fell into its first recession in 15 years in the third
quarter, paving the way for deeper cuts to interest rates.
The yen typically rises when demand falls for so-called carry trades,
where investors borrow in currencies with low interest rates and buy
assets in nations with higher rates.
U.S. President George W. Bush yesterday urged leaders of the world's
biggest economies not to abandon free-market capitalism following the
seizure in credit markets. G-20 leaders including Australian Prime
Minister Kevin Rudd and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have used the
crisis to demand greater government control of markets and to attack
the U.S. for failing to rein in investors and speculators.
Leaders of G-20 countries gather in Washington to debate proposals
ranging from curbing executive pay and restraining hedge funds to
raising capital requirements for banks after financial institutions
worldwide lost $958 billion on securities tied to U.S. mortgages.
Gross domestic product in the 15 euro nations shrank 0.2 percent from
the previous three months, when it also contracted 0.2 percent, the
European Union's Luxembourg-based statistics office said today. The two
quarters of contraction -- the result of this year's surges in the cost
of credit, the euro and oil prices -- mark the first recession since
the single currency was introduced almost a decade ago.
EUR/USD the rate continues to be consolidated in the field of a level $1,2700.