Euro Rises on Hopes of China Bond Backing

The white tiger night to the rescue.

“The euro rose against the dollar and the yen on speculation China will increase its purchases of European bonds, easing concern that the region’s sovereign-debt crisis will spread.

The single currency snapped four days of losses against the Swiss franc, climbing from a record low. The Financial Times reported that European Financial Stability Facility Chief Executive Officer Klaus Regling said Asian investors, including China, may buy Portuguese bailout bonds when the EFSF sells them in June. Sweden’s krona gained against the dollar and euro as a report showed consumer and business confidence rose more than economists predicted this month.

“We may have moved, with this Asian support, a little back to reality, which is not quite as imminently gloomy as a lot of people wanted to believe,” said Beat Siegenthaler, a strategist in Zurich at UBS AG, rated as the world’s third-largest currency trader by Euromoney Institutional Investor Plc.

The euro rose 0.6 percent to $1.4165 at 10:44 a.m. in London. It weakened to $1.3970 on May 23, the least since March 17. The common currency advanced 0.3 percent to 115.85 yen. The dollar traded little changed at 81.79 yen. Against the Swiss franc, the euro rose 0.4 percent to 1.2339, after yesterday dropping to a record low of 1.2271.”

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