Dollar slips against euro, yen
By Virginia Harrison, MarketWatch
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — The dollar slipped against the euro in Asian trading Friday on market optimism over the resolution of Greece’s sovereign-debt crisis.
The euro EURUSD -0.12% rose to $1.4261, from $1.4235 late Thursday.
The European Council was holding a two-day summit in Brussels, concluding Friday, covering debt-plagued Greece among other issues.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has pulled out of the bipartisan budget talks because of an impasse over taxes. A deal now rests with House Speaker John Boehner and President Barack Obama.
“A comprehensive reform package agreed upon with the commission, in liaison with the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and adoption by the Greek parliament of the key laws on the fiscal strategy and privatization must be finalized as a matter of urgency in the coming days,” the European Council said in a statement Thursday.
The statement came amid reports that Greece has gained European Union and International Monetary Fund approval of its latest five-year austerity plan. Read report on reported approval of Greek austerity plan.
The dollar index DXY +0.09% which measures the performance of the U.S. unit against a basket of six rival currencies, edged down to 75.244 from 75.321 late Thursday. See real-time currency quotes and tools.
“At the core, the Fed is on hold, bond yields stay low but don’t fall further, liquidity will drive asset markets up and the dollar, and yen, down,” currency strategists at Societe Generale said.
“This core theme should re-assert itself during July as long as the upcoming data round confirms the soft patch isn’t quicksand, and as long as the Europeans are capable of saving Europe,” they said.
The dollar USDJPY -0.01% slipped to 80.50 Japanese yen, from ¥80.55 late Thursday.
The British pound GBPUSD -0.15% changed hands at $1.6009, up from $1.5979.
The Australian dollar AUDUSD -0.01% rose to $1.0535 from $1.0473 late Thursday.
Virginia Harrison is a MarketWatch reporter based in Sydney.
