The Great Britain pound gained versus the euro on the speculation that Ireland would fail to find means for decreasing its budget shortfall even though it discusses with the European Union the possible measures to do so. The pound dropped against the US dollar and the Japanese yen.

The Canadian dollar slipped against its US counterpart as the declining stocks and commodities caused the speculation that the global economic recovery is losing its momentum. The currency strengthened against the euro.

The South Korean won fell on the concerns that the government is going to perform actions, which would curb the currency’s volatility and drive away the speculators.

The euro dropped today as the speculation that Ireland wouldn’t be able to curb its budget deficit renewed the concerns about the debt crisis in the euro-region.

The main driver for the moves of the US dollar, as well as most other currencies, this week was the quantitative easing, which weakened already weak greenback. The favorable US nonfarm payrolls allowed the dollar to return some strength yesterday, but it posted weekly losses against most major currencies.

The Japanese yen fell against the US dollar and weakened versus the Great Britain pound as the nonfarm payrolls in the US grew and the Asian stocks rallied, decreasing demand for the safer currencies.

The Canadian dollar extended its gains today, reaching parity with the US dollar, after the reports showed that employment improved in Canada and the US last month, improving the outlook for the economic growth.

The US dollar jumped against the euro today, erasing yesterday’s losses, after the reports showed that the US employers added last month more jobs than predicted, while the retail sails in the Eurozone unexpectedly declined in September, increasing concerns for Europe’s economy.

The South African rand fell today as the central bank bought the foreign currencies in order to battle the excessive appreciation, which may hurt the exports.

The Canadian dollar today rose against its US counterpart as the stocks and crude oil climbed and fluctuated against the euro after the bid for Potash Corp. was rejected.