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Summary Euro rose against dollar in the wake of German court ruling about eurozone bailout fund.
The euro topped $1.29 for the first time in four months Thursday in the wake of a German court ruling that the crucial eurozone bailout fund is constitutional.The US greenback was also pressed lower by expectations that the Federal Reserve will opt for more monetary easing when it concludes a two-day policy meeting on Thursday.At 2100 GMT the euro was at $1.2899, up from $1.2848 late Wednesday.The safe haven for the risk-averse, the Japanese yen, fell against both: the dollar was buying 77.84 yen, compared with 77.73 Wednesday, while the euro pushed to 100.40 yen from 99.88.The German courts approval of the permanent 500-billion-euro ($645-billion) European Stability Mechanism gave hope that the eurozone financial crisis might be quelled.The approval is another important development in Europes policy response to the regions debt crisis which, in addition to the euro gains, prompted a modest rise in European equities and a slight decline in Spanish and Italian bond yields, said Nick Bennenbroek of Wells Fargo Bank.Meanwhile, with the Feds policy board meeting, he said, There are widespread expectations of further balance sheet expansion at this weeks meeting. Should the Fed deliver, we expect moderate further weakness in the US dollar.The Swiss franc picked up ground, with the dollar falling to 0.9372 francs from 0.9392 francs.The British pound also pressed higher, rising to $1.6107 from $1.6067.
