By Yasuhiko Seki and Anchalee Worrachate Feb. 18 (Bloomberg) -- The dollar rose toward a ninth-month high against the euro as signs the U.S. economy is gaining momentum added to speculation the Federal Reserve will be one of the first major central banks to remove stimulus measures. The greenback advanced versus 14 of the 16 major currencies before U.S. reports today that may show an index of leading indicators increased for a 10th month and manufacturing in the Philadelphia area expanded. The dollar also gained as gold prices fell after the International Monetary Fund said it would begin selling reserves of the metal. The yen climbed after the Bank of Japan refrained from expanding its lending and asset- purchase programs. “Strong economic data buoy expectations that the Fed will exit from stimulus ahead of its peers in Japan and Europe,” said Tomohiro Nishida, a Tokyo-based foreign-currency dealer at Chuo Mitsui Trust & Banking Co. “This view will support the dollar.” The dollar strengthened to $1.3580 per euro as of 7:20 a.m. in London from $1.3607 in New York yesterday. It climbed to $1.3532 on Feb. 12, the strongest since May 19. The yen appreciated to 123.49 per euro from 124.17, and to 90.93 versus the dollar from 91.25. The New York-based Conference Board’s gauge of the outlook for the next three to six months climbed 0.5 percent in January, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists. The Fed Bank of Philadelphia’s general economic index advanced to 17 this month from 15.2 in January, a separate Bloomberg survey showed. Selling Assets The dollar rose for a second day versus the euro after minutes of the Fed’s Jan. 26-27 meeting released yesterday showed some officials pushed to start selling assets in the “near future” as a way to shrink the bank’s balance sheet. Officials unanimously agreed that Fed assets and banks’ excess cash will need to shrink “substantially over time” and the central bank will need to return to holding just Treasuries, the minutes showed. Futures on the CME Group exchange yesterday showed a 47 percent chance the Fed will raise its target rate for overnight bank lending by at least a quarter-percentage point by its September meeting, up from 46 percent odds the day before. The dollar also advanced as gold prices fell after the IMF said yesterday it will “shortly” expand sales of the metal to the open market after central banks purchased 212 metric tons in private deals. Yen ‘Attractive’ The yen rose for the first time in five days against the dollar on speculation Japanese companies bought the currency after it fell to a four-week low of 91.38 yesterday. “Levels of around 91 would likely be attractive for exporters,” said Masanobu Ishikawa, general manager of foreign exchange at Tokyo Forex & Ueda Harlow Ltd., Japan’s largest currency broker. Large manufacturers expect the yen to average 91.16 per dollar in the six months to March 2010, according to the Bank of Japan’s quarterly Tankan survey. Japan’s currency extended gains after the nation’s central bank resisted government pressure for its take more action to counter deflation. “The lack of action at the BOJ helped the yen trim its losses, driven yesterday by speculation about additional measures,” said Shinichi Hayashi, a dealer in Tokyo at Shinkin Central Bank, the central institution for Japan’s financial cooperatives. 　　　The yen dropped yesterday on speculation the BOJ may add more cash to the system after Finance Minister Naoto Kan said the government wants to cooperate with the central bank to curb falling prices in the economy. European Banks The euro weakened on concern banks in the 16-nation region will need to raise more funds from the European Central Bank amid concern over Greece’s fiscal deficit. The ECB’s marginal lending facility extended more than 15 billion euros ($20.4 billion) over Feb. 11, 12, 15 and 16, according to central bank data. European Union regulators this week ordered Greece to disclose details of currency swaps after an inquiry uncovered a series of agreements with banks that it may have used to conceal its debts. “One factor weighing on the euro and suggesting stresses related to Greece remain elevated is higher-than-normal use of the ECB’s marginal lending facility over the last four days,” said Greg Gibbs, a currency strategist at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc in Sydney. “This may reflect troubles some banks are experiencing funding themselves in the interbank market.” The euro has slumped 7.3 percent against the yen this year and 5.2 percent against the dollar amid concern sovereign debt problems will hamper the region’s recovery. To contact the reporters on this story: Anchalee Worrachate in London at aworrachate@bloomberg.net; Yasuhiko Seki in Tokyo at yseki5@bloomberg.net

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