The euro rose to a three-week high against the yen and firmed against the dollar despite softer-than-forecast inflation numbers that sapped hopes the European Central Bank will cut rates when it meets this week. After three days of gains, the US dollar index of major currencies was off 0.18 percent to 80.148 in late morning New York trade.
The euro, which was ahead 0.85 percent against the yen at 142.08 yen, was also up against the dollar at$1.3778 for a gain on the day against the greenback of 0.20 percent. The shared currency was also up 0.21 percent against the British pound at 0.8282 euro on trading driven by speculation that euro zone inflation will not be soft enough to spur more monetary easing by the ECB.
Europe's central bankers worry that a euro now approaching a $1.40 level not seen since 2011 would aggravate deflationary forces and hurt economic recovery. Dealers in Europe said new bets for a weaker yen against the dollar and euro have been placed since players squared up for the end of the Japanese trading year on Thursday.