The dollar gained against most of its major peers before U.S. reports this week that may show services industries grew for a 14th month and hiring increased in January. The greenback rose as the Associated Press reported gunfire today in Cairo’s Tahrir Square and Al Jazeera network showed footage of bodies being dragged along a street. Europe’s single currency held three days of gains versus the yen on speculation European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet will signal a willingness to tackle inflation when policy makers meet today after data showed rising prices across the region. “Stronger U.S. data generally leads to a stronger U.S. dollar,” said Gareth Berry, a currency strategist at UBS AG in Singapore. “We have things escalating in Egypt, it seems, and that’s not going to do risk appetite any good” and may spur demand for the safe-haven dollar, he said. The dollar traded at $1.3790 per euro as of 2:26 p.m. in Tokyo from $1.3811 in New York yesterday, when it fell to as low as $1.3862, the least since Nov. 9. It fetched 81.63 yen from 81.55 yen yesterday, when it advanced 0.3 percent. The euro was little changed at 112.58 yen. The greenback gained against 13 of its 16 major counterparts before a report that may show U.S. service industries, which make up about 90 percent of the economy, are growing at the fastest pace since May 2006. The Institute for Supply Management’s non-manufacturing gauge for January matched December’s reading of 57.1, economists projected in a Bloomberg survey. A reading greater than 50 signals growth. U.S. Jobs A report by the Labor Department may show fewer Americans filed first-time claims for unemployment insurance payments last week. Applications for jobless benefits declined 34,000 to 420,000 in the week ended Jan. 29, a separate survey indicated. Economists say tomorrow’s Labor Department report will show nonfarm payrolls climbed by 140,000 workers in January after a 103,000 gain in December. “A strong NFP will solidify the recent upbeat performance in the U.S. economy and likely lead to higher yields, pushing dollar-yen higher,” analysts led by Hans-Guenter Redeker, London-based global head of foreign-exchange strategy at BNP Paribas SA, wrote in a research note. Retail sales in the euro region increased 0.5 percent in December from a month earlier, the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg will say today, according to economists in a Bloomberg News survey. Inflation accelerated last month to the fastest since October 2008, the statistics office said in a preliminary estimate Jan. 31. Trichet said on Jan. 26 the ECB will “do what is necessary” to maintain price stability. The ECB is scheduled to meet in Frankfurt today to discuss monetary policy. The Frankfurt-based central bank will keep its benchmark interest rate at a record low of 1 percent, according to all 58 economists in a Bloomberg survey. Trichet will hold a press conference after the meeting. To contact the reporter on this story: Candice Zachariahs in Sydney at czachariahs2@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Rocky Swift at rswift5@bloomberg.net.

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