* Political, trade uncertainties cloud euro's longer-term outlook
* Dollar weakens partly on rebound in commodity, EM currencies
* OPEC output pact bolsters oil prices, investor sentiment
* Aussie dollar rebounds from 13-month low
By Richard Leong
NEW YORK, June 22 (Reuters) - The euro climbed on Friday as traders were encouraged by improved regional economic growth data and new assurances by Italian politicians that their nation would not leave the single currency.
The euro registered a weekly gain of nearly 0.5 percent against the dollar, reversing the prior week's 1.35 percent drop tied to the European Central Bank's hint it would hold interest rates through the summer of 2019.
The euro's advance, together with a rebound in commodity-linked and emerging market currencies, pressured the dollar which ended lower on the week.
"The German and French data were better. There was more assurance from the Italian government about staying in the single currency," said Minh Trang, senior currency trader at Silicon Valley Bank in Santa Clara, California.
Business activity in Germany and France, the euro zone's top two economies, picked up in June despite trade tensions between Europe and the United States, IHS Markit data showed. current Italian government "does not want to exit the euro," Claudio Borghi, a top lawmaker in the far-right League party, said in a newspaper interview. single currency was also bolstered after Greece clinched debt relief and received a cash infusion from the euro zone. euro rose 0.5 percent to $1.1662 EUR= , and increased 0.6 percent to 128.17 yen EURJPY= .
Despite this week's gains, the euro is still vulnerable to regional political instability and U.S. tariffs.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday called for a 20 percent levy on European Union-assembled car imports. Chancellor Angela Merkel faces pressure to deal with the migration dispute that has divided Europe and threatened her own government. hard to be bullish on the euro," said Paresh Upadhyaya, director of currency strategy at Amundi Pioneer Investments in Boston.
An index that tracks the dollar versus a basket of currencies including the euro .DXY was down 0.24 percent at 94.517, retreating from an 11-month peak of 95.529 on Thursday.
The greenback also weakened against commodity-linked and emerging market currencies as worries about a global trade war were offset by a perceived modest increase in oil output by OPEC producers. bounce in Brent crude prices LCOc1 , which were up 3 percent, helped rekindle some investor confidence in higher-yielding currencies, analysts said. agreed to a modest increase in oil production after its leader Saudi Arabia persuaded archrival Iran to cooperate. Australian dollar AUD=D4 rose nearly 0.9 percent at $0.74400 after hitting a 13-month low on Thursday, while the South African rand ZAR= rose 1 percent at 13.4338 per dollar, recovering from a near seven-month trough earlier this week. ========================================================
Currency bid prices at 1441 EDT (1841 GMT): Description
RIC
Last
U.S.
Pct
YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid
Close
Change Change
Previous
Session
Euro/Dollar
EUR=
$1.1662 $1.1601 +0.53
-2.78
+1.1675
+1.1600 Dollar/Yen
109.8500 109.9800 -0.12
-2.50
+110.210 +109.810 Euro/Yen
EURJPY= 128.15
127.60
+0.43
-5.20
+128.580 +127.530 Dollar/Swiss
CHF=
0.9874
0.9916
-0.42
+1.34
+0.9920
+0.9876 Sterling/Dollar GBP=
1.3258
1.3250
+0.06
-1.88
+1.3314
+1.3240 Dollar/Canadian CAD=
1.3281
1.3312
-0.23
+5.60
+1.3380
+1.3262 Australian/Doll AUD=
0.7441
0.7379
+0.84
-4.61
+0.7443
+0.7375 ar
Euro/Swiss
EURCHF= 1.1519
1.1507
+0.10
-1.45
+1.1550
+1.1499 Euro/Sterling
EURGBP= 0.8797
0.8760
+0.42
-0.97
+0.8805
+0.8751 NZ Dollar/Dolar NZD=
0.6917
0.6876
+0.60
-2.39
+0.6918
+0.6856 Dollar/Norway
8.0921
8.1248
-0.40
-1.40
+8.1275
+8.0662 Euro/Norway
EURNOK= 9.4397
9.4308
+0.09
-4.15
+9.4460
+9.4143 Dollar/Sweden
SEK=
8.8440
8.8908
-0.03
+7.83
+8.8952
+8.8275 Euro/Sweden
EURSEK= 10.3174 10.3200 -0.03
+4.86
+10.340
+10.2902
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Europe - CESI and CFTC
https://reut.rs/2K9Q4jj World FX rates in 2018
http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Additonal Reporting by Saikat Chatterjee in London and Shinichi Saoshiro in Tokyo; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Tom Brown)