Upbeat German business survey lifts euro, tempers recession fears
Safe-haven yen off six-week highs to the dollar as some worries about economic growth subside
London — The euro rose on Monday after a better-than-expected business confidence survey from Germany eased some of the worries about economic growth and knocked the safe-haven yen off six-week highs to the dollar. World markets were buffeted on Friday by fears of economic recession fanned by inversion of the US bond yield curve. That sapped demand for higher-yield, growth-reliant assets and drove investors toward “safe” destinations such as the Japanese yen and gold. However, sentiment took a turn for the better after Germany’s IFO Institute said its business climate index rose to 99.6 in March, from an upwardly revised 98.7 in the February. The March figure beat a consensus forecast for a reading of 98.5. The data briefly lifted German 10-year yields back into positive territory, the single currency also benefited, rising 0.2% to a session-high of $1.13250, having traded flat earlier in the day. Against the yen, the single currency traded as high as 124.81, up almost half a percen...
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