Euro rallies after German central banker\'s comments

The euro reached two-year highs against other major currencies on Friday after hawkish comments by a German central banker. Near 2200 GMT, the euro traded at $1.3743, up from $1.3690 on Thursday after earlier peaking at $1.3893, the highest since October 2011. The euro also advanced against the Japanese currency, trading at 144.37 yen from 143.47 yen -- after earlier hitting 145.69 yen, the highest level since October 2008. The dollar advanced to 105.13 yen from 104.80 yen. Traders were stirred to buy the euro after German Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann, who sits on the European Central Bank's Governing Council, told a German newspaper that subdued inflationary pressure should not justify unfettered monetary easing. "While Mr. Weidmann is a known monetary hawk, his comments overnight gave investors an excuse to push the euro higher, which triggered automatic orders that likely exaggerated the move," said Omer Esiner, chief market analyst at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange, Inc. Weidmann's comments follow recent statements by ECB President Mario Draghi, pledging to take action if the European economy does not improve. Among other currencies, the British pound rose to $1.6475 from $1.6410. The dollar dipped to 0.8913 Swiss franc from 0.8965.