Euro boosted by data, rise in German bund yields

London

THE euro rose against the dollar on Thursday for the first time this week, helped by nascent signs of a recovery in eurozone activity and a rise in German bund yields which narrowed the spread over US Treasuries.

Data on Thursday showed the composite flash PMI for the eurozone fell to 53.4 from 53.9, missing the 53.8 forecast in a Reuters poll. Despite the drop, data compiler Markit said, the eurozone is on track to grow at 0.4 per cent in the current quarter. The euro touched a high of US$1.1182, up 0.7 per cent on the day and off a three-week low of US$1.1062 struck on Wednesday. It had started to rise in early London trade after the French PMI survey beat expectations.