Euro jumps to 11-month high against dollar
Euro jumps to 11-month high vs dollar as ECB says banks paying loans quicker than expected
NEW YORK (AP) -- The euro rose to an 11-month high against the dollar Friday after the European Central Bank said banks in the region were expected to pay back emergency loans faster than previously expected, increasing confidence that Europe's debt crisis is easing.
Traders also bought the euro on better-than-expected German business confidence in January.
The Ifo institute's confidence index, a key indicator of where the German economy is headed, rose to 104.2 points in January from 102.4 in December. Economists expected a reading of 103.
The euro rose to $1.3467 late $1.3371 late Thursday. The euro rose as high as $1.3479 earlier, its highest point against the dollar since Feb. 29, 2012.
The dollar rose to 90.98 Japanese yen from 89.96 Japanese yen late Thursday. The dollar jumped as high as 91.19 Japanese yen earlier Friday, its highest point against the dollar since June 21, 2010, after Japan said its consumer prices fell in 2012 for the fourth straight year.
In other trading, the British pound rose to $1.5800 from $1.5790.
The dollar rose to 1.0078 Canadian dollar from 1.0030 Canadian dollar.
The dollar fell to 0.9262 Swiss franc from 0.9283 Swiss franc.
