FOREX-Dollar set for biggest weekly rise since early April as euro tumbles

* Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh

By Saikat Chatterjee
LONDON, April 24 (Reuters) - The dollar gained on Friday and
is set for its biggest weekly rise since early April as the euro
weakened after a European Union meeting on Thursday to build a
trillion euro emergency fund fell short of satisfying investors'
concerns.
Despite the agreement by EU leaders to build a war chest to
help recover from the coronavirus pandemic, French President
Emmanuel Macron said differences continued between EU
governments over whether the fund should be transferring grant
money, or simply making loans. Ulrich Leuchtmann, head of FX strategy at Commerzbank, said
the outcome of the meeting reflected the disagreement among the
group about resolving a widening crisis in Europe and preventing
an escalation in peripheral bond yields.
The euro weakened broadly on Friday, falling 0.4% against
the U.S. dollar EUR=EBS to a one-month low at $1.07275 and a
three-year low versus the yen at 115.55 yen EURJPY=EBS .
The single currency's losses came in the backdrop of rising
Italian yields which rose 5-9 bps across the curve. GVD/EUR
With Italy and Spain hit far harder than Germany by the
crisis, old enmities have surfaced across a bloc which faces a
cut to output as deep as 15% according to the European Central
Bank.
Though the outcome of the EU meeting fell short on details
on the fund, specifically in terms of how it will be financed or
whether it will be linked to the EU budget, some analysts took
heart from the fact that the meeting didn't break up in
acrimony.
The euro's losses sent the greenback on track for its
biggest weekly rise since early April. Against a basket of its
rivals, the dollar =USD was up 0.2% at 100.72. On a weekly
basis, it has strengthened more than 1%.
Preliminary goods-orders data in the United States and a
German business sentiment survey due later on Friday are
unlikely to improve investors' mood, with any global recovery
expected to be slow and patchy.
The Aussie and kiwi each shed about 0.2%, holding the kiwi
NZD=D3 below 60 cents at $0.5996 and the Aussie AUD=D3 at
$0.6359, beneath resistance around 64 cents per dollar.