Feb 21 (Reuters) - Haven currencies including the greenback rose on Friday as concerns about U.S growth and looming tariffs weighed on investor sentiment. Sentiment soured after the S&P Global index showed U.S. business activity nearly stalled in February on concerns about looming tariffs and federal spending cuts, with the services subcomponent unexpectedly falling below 50, signaling contraction. The University of Michigan’s measure of consumer sentiment fell to its lowest level in fifteen months and the U.S. housing market also showed signs of weakness. Prior to the U.S. data, China's Vice Premier He Lifeng said he was concerned over U.S. tariffs and trade restrictions on China during a video call with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, while Bloomberg reported that the U.S. President Donald Trump is considering tariffs to counter digital taxes. Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem later chimed in on U.S. policy saying long-lasting tariffs would all but wipe out Canadian growth for 2025 and 2026. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy agreed that Ukraine should have a seat at peace talks, while Trump said Ukraine has no cards to play as he pushes for a minerals agreement. EUR/USD fell against all its G-10 peers as risk tone worsened. Limited interest in taking new positions ahead of weekend German elections held the pair above its 21-DMA at 1.0415, while nearby resistance is seen at 1.0535/50. A 0.5% drop in EUR/CHF had the pair testing its 100-day moving average at 0.9380. A bevy of CHF shorts will be tested if USD/CHF falls below its 0.8957 Nov. 22 high. USD/JPY reversed a gain after the U.S PMI report and subsequently slid a new year-to-date low of 148.97 as shares and Treasury yields retreated. Weakness in yen crosses sent CAD/JPY below a five-year ascending trendline and EUR/JPY toward its year to-date low of 155.46 amid asset manager and model sales. GBP/USD fell 0.3% though an earlier report of better-than-expected retail sales and services PMI beat helped limit sterling’s losses. Treasury yields fell 7 to 8 basis points across tenors. The 2s-10s curve was down about 2 basis points to +21.5bps. The S&P 500 fell 1.45% on slumping consumer shares. Oil tumbled over 2.5% on fears of slowing U.S. growth. Gold was little changed, while copper dropped 0.71% on concerns about China demand. Heading toward the close: EUR/USD -0.40%, USD/JPY -0.40%, GBP/USD -0.28%, AUD/USD -0.64%, =USD +0.25%, EUR/JPY -0.80%, GBP/JPY -0.70%, AUD/JPY -1.05%. For more click on (Editing by Terence Gabriel Reporting by Robert Fullem) ((robert.fullem@thomsonreuters.com;))
