American focus: the yen rallied

The yen rallied versus all of its most-traded counterparts after China said it will lower its target for economic growth, boosting demand for the relative safety of Japan’s currency. China pared the nation’s economic growth target from an 8 percent goal in place since 2005, a signal that leaders are determined to cut reliance on exports and capital spending in favor of consumption. Officials will aim for inflation of about 4 percent this year, unchanged from the 2011 goal, according to Premier Wen Jiabao’s state-of-the-nation speech, delivered at the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress in Beijing.

The euro gained against most major currencies as Greece said it expected private creditors to accept its debt-swap terms because it constitutes “the best offer.” The euro rose against the dollar after European retail sales unexpectedly increased in January after four months of declines as growth in France helped to outweigh a drop in Germany. European Union leaders will hold a teleconference on March 9 to review the outcome of the 106 billion-euro ($140 billion) debt swap with Greece’s private creditors. Success depends on how many investors agree to the writedown by March 8 and the Greek government has set a 75 percent participation rate as a threshold for proceeding with the transaction.