The euro surged the most this year against the dollar after European leaders eased terms on loans to Spanish banks, taking a step to resolve the region’s debt crisis and boosting demand for the shared currency. The 17-nation euro posted the biggest gain in three weeks versus the yen as European Union President Herman Van Rompuy said officials meeting in Brussels agreed to drop the condition that emergency loans to Spanish banks give their governments preferred creditor status. The Australian and New Zealand dollars advanced as stock gains boosted demand for higher- yielding assets. The euro advanced 1 percent to $1.2571 at 9:01 a.m. London time after rising as much as 1.5 percent, the biggest intraday gain since Nov. 30. The currency jumped 1.2 percent to 100.09 yen after climbing 1.7 percent, the most since June 6. The yen weakened 0.3 percent to 79.67 per dollar. Consumer spending in the U.S. probably stalled in May as slower job growth and subdued wage gains prompted Americans to cut back. Household purchases, which account for about 70 percent of the economy, were unchanged after a 0.3 percent gain in April, Another report may show consumer sentiment dropped in June to a six-month low. An early indicator of spending by consumers, retail sales fell in May for a second month, Commerce Department figures showed June 13. Purchases excluding automobiles slumped by the most in two years. Cooling demand coincides with a weakening of the labor market. Companies added 82,000 workers to payrolls last month, the fewest since August. Next week, the Labor Department may report private payrolls, which exclude government agencies, rose by about 100,000 in June, completing the weakest quarter since January-March 2010.