The euro fell, heading for its worst week against the yen in two months, after Handelsblatt reported the International Monetary Fund is discussing aid programs with at least 10 Eastern European governments.
Europe's currency weakened versus 12 of its 16 major counterparts after the German newspaper cited unidentified IMF officials as saying the countries applying for loans for the first time included Bulgaria, Croatia and Macedonia.
The yen and the dollar rose against most major currencies as U.S. stock futures fell, boosting demand for safer assets.
The euro declined to 129.09 yen as of 7:58 a.m. in London from 130.36 yesterday in New York, set for a 3.8 percent loss this week, the biggest since the period ended May 15. Europe’s currency dropped to $1.3947 from $1.4020. Japan's currency rose to 92.64 per dollar from 92.99.
Canada's dollar rose from near a seven-week low as advances by commodities and stocks boosted investor demand for higher-yielding assets such as commodity- linked currencies. Canada’s currency strengthened 0.5 percent to C$1.1622 per U.S. dollar at 4:57 p.m. in Toronto, from C$1.1675 yesterday, when it touched C$1.1725, the weakest level since May 18. One Canadian dollar buys 86.05 U.S. cents.
Gold traded little changed in Asia, headed for a second weekly decline after falling to a two-month low this week as the dollar rallied, curbing demand for the metal as a hedge against accelerating consumer prices. Gold for immediate delivery traded at $913.72 an ounce at 2:31 p.m. in Singapore, down 2 percent this week. August delivery futures on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange were down 0.4 percent at $913.
