Euro rises after German survey result

The euro rose for the first time in three trading sessions yesterday, while commodity currencies advanced, bolstered by a better-than-expected German economic sentiment survey and robust Chinese data. A strong response to a Spanish treasury-bill auction added to the relief, but the outlook remained shaky after S&P's downgraded the Eurozone's EFSF rescue fund by one notch to AA+. "The ZEW survey has helped sentiment towards the euro," said Marcus Hettinger, global FX strategist, Credit Suisse. The Australian and New Zealand dollars outperformed the euro and rose to their highest in two-and-a-half months against the greenback after China's fourth-quarter growth just exceeded market expectations.