The euro rose to a three-week high against the dollar on speculation European officials will approve additional assistance for Greece as part of efforts to counter the region’s debt crisis.
The euro pared its first monthly loss since November after Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker said European leaders will decide on a new aid package by the end of next month and have ruled out a “total restructuring” of the nation’s debt. The yen fell versus all 16 of its major counterparts as stocks surged and after Moody’s Investors Service placed Japan’s credit ratings on review for possible downgrade. New Zealand’s dollar rose to a record after a report showed business confidence increased.
“The news that European leaders are not going to demand restructuring is making a difference as it simply means they will throw money at the problem to stay off the day of reckoning,” said Geoffrey Yu, a currency strategist at UBS AG in London. “We can see the euro move higher to $1.45.”
The euro stayed higher after a report showed German retail sales rose in April as unemployment fell below 3 million for the first time in almost 19 years, fueling bets that the European Central Bank will signal next week that it may raise interest rates for a second time this year.


EUR/USD gained above $1.4400.

GBP/USD followed the euro and reachd $1.6545, before eased back to $1.6500.

USD/JPY got support at Y80.70, before on the back of rising stocks gained to 81.70.

Today's main event is Bank of Canada's rate decision at 13:00 GMT before Chicago PMI is due to come at 14:00  GMT.