Euro steady as EU summit looms The euro rose against the dollar ahead of a number of key events for European markets in the week ahead, as investors continued to focus on the timing of a Spanish bailout. The shared currency clawed back losses during Asian trading to gain 0.1 per cent to $1.2968 ahead of an EU summit on Thursday, as well as an auction of Spanish debt later in the week and local Spanish elections on Sunday. The US dollar was broadly stronger ahead of retail sales figures for September, with expectations of growth of 0.8 per cent on the previous month. Analysts said investors would continue to scrutinise figures on the US economy as an indicator of how the dollar was likely to perform, with data set to be released during the week. Risk appetite remained subdued in spite of positive signs on China's economy, after the People's Bank of China released trade data over the weekend showing a rise in exports to the US, Japan and Asian countries. The US dollar remained close to a 19-year high against the renminbi, hit on Friday, at 6.2580. "Evidence of a bottoming out in China's slowdown coupled with the Fed's QE3 is contributing to a stronger Chinese yuan - something we expect to continue," said analysts at Commerzbank. The Japanese yen continued to weaken against the US dollar following warnings from Japanese officials at the International Monetary Fund's annual meeting in Tokyo last week that the strength of the yen was a serious problem for the economy. Analysts said expectations for intervention from Tokyo on the yen remained high. The US dollar rose 0.2 per cent to Y78.67. The Australian dollar was flat against the US currency at $1.0231 ahead of the release of minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia on Tuesday, with investors watching the central bank for further dovish signs after it unexpectedly cut interest rates earlier in October.