The yen gained to a more than 11-year high against the euro as investors sought the perceived safety of the nation’s debt amid a deepening European crisis and slowing U.S. growth. Japan’s currency strengthened against all its major counterparts for a second day as the premium investors receive for buying debt of the U.S., U.K. and Germany instead of Japanese securities fell.

The euro rose from the weakest in almost two years versus the dollar after Dow Jones reported the International Monetary Fund has started planning for a potential rescue of Spain. The European department of the IMF has begun contingency planning for a rescue loan to Spain, Dow Jones reported, citing anonymous sources.

Data showed the U.S. economic expansion slowed before tomorrow’s Labor Department payroll data. Gross domestic product rose at a 1.9 percent annual pace in the first quarter, down from a 2.2 percent prior estimate. The number of Americans applying for unemployment insurance payments rose last week to a one-month high.