The euro slipped against the dollar Friday, while the U.S. currency lost ground against the yen after China took steps to let its currency appreciate faster, according to AP. The euro bought US$1.3477 in afternoon European trading, down from the US$1.3492 it bought late Thursday in New York. The British pound dropped to US$1.9713 from US$1.9743. The dollar fell to 121.05 Japanese yen from 121.27 yen. Earlier Friday, China moved to let its yuan rise faster against the dollar and to cool its sizzling economy ahead of what are expected to contentious talks in Washington over Beijing's soaring trade surplus. American officials hope a stronger yuan will help to narrow the multibillion-dollar U.S. trade deficit with China by making Chinese goods more expensive. Still, the Chinese central bank cautioned that the latest change _ widening the band in which the yuan is allowed to fluctuate against the dollar _ will not lead to «large appreciations» for the yuan. Also on Friday, China raised interest rates for the second time in just over two months. The free-floating yen sometimes acts as a proxy to the tightly managed yuan on currency markets. -- SPA
