29.08.201307:04:38UTC+00Dollar stays on top versus Euro on U.S. growth; Rupee uptrend

The dollar stayed on top versus the euro following its largest advance in a week before U.S. data that may show the economy grew faster than initially calculated, adding to the case for the Federal Reserve to slow stimulus.

The rupee rose from an all-time low after the Reserve Bank of India announced it will sell dollars to the nation’s largest state-run oil importers. Australia’s currency spiked versus the majority of its peers after a report showed business investment rose. South Korea’s won reached a three-week high after Finance Minister Hyun Oh Seok said a widening current-account surplus will buoy on the currency.

U.S. Expansion

Revised figures from the U.S. Commerce Department today will probably show gross domestic product expanded at a 2.2 percent annualized rate in the second quarter, according to a Bloomberg News survey of economists, compared with the initial reading of 1.7 percent. Separate data today are projected to show a decline in applications for jobless benefits.

Syria Tension

The U.S. and its NATO allies began presenting their justification for military action against Syria as they advanced plans for launching strikes and prepared evidence that the Middle Eastern regime used chemical weapons on its own people. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government has denied allegations it used chemical weapons.

Germany, Australia

“Asset liquidity and value preservation are precious commodities when market uncertainty is high,” Valentin Marinov, the head of European, Group-of-10 currency strategy in London at Citigroup, wrote in a research note yesterday. The euro looks attractive as a haven, especially for investors who “are already long U.S. dollar.”

German figures due today are projected to show the number of people out of work decreased in August for a third month, according to analyst estimates. The unemployment rate probably held near a two-decade low of 6.8 percent.

In Australia, the Aussie rose 0.4 percent to 89.73 U.S. cents, breaking a two-day losing streak. Capital spending gained 4 percent in the second quarter, Australia’s Bureau of Statistics said today. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had estimated no change from the first quarter.

The investment figure “was stronger than expected,” said Callum Henderson, the global head of currencies research at Standard Chartered Plc in Singapore. “It should be a mild positive for the Aussie.”

South Korea’s won touched 1,108.66 per dollar, the strongest since Aug. 9, before trading at 1,109.35, up 0.5 percent from yesterday. A surplus in the nation’s current account, the broadest measure of trade, will rise to $53 billion this year from $43 billion last year, according to a Bank of Korea forecast last month.

“The size of the current-account surplus this year is forecast to be bigger than last year,” Hyun said in an interview yesterday in Seoul. “That means it’s unavoidable to have upward pressure on the won.”