Euro rises in Asia

The euro rose to a three-week peak against the dollar on Tuesday after a wave of short-covering triggered by a report saying Germany could make concessions on efforts to put together a bailout for Greece, with traders eyeing $1.45 as its next target. Germany is considering dropping its push for an early rescheduling of Greek bonds in order to facilitate a new package of aid loans for Greece, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The euro rose as high as $1.4407, its highest in three weeks, piercing its 55-day moving average of $1.4334 and also $1.4373, the top of the Ichimoku cloud on the daily chart. The European Union is racing to draft a second bailout package for Greece to release vital loans next month and avert the risk of it defaulting, EU officials said on Monday. The dollar's index against a basket of currencies fell to its lowest level in three weeks, losing 0.5 percent to 74.568, having broken below support on the Ichimoku cloud bottom at 74.89.
The dollar has been hurt by a recent batch of disappointing US data, with many traders thinking that important numbers this week, such as ISM manufacturing and payroll data, could cement the view that the US recovery may remain slow for now. The dollar also fell 0.2 percent against the Swiss franc to 0.85 franc, a stone's throw from a record low of 0.8457 hit on Monday while the pound rose 0.4 percent to $1.6543, its highest in four weeks. The Australian dollar also gained 0.23 percent to $1.0713, quickly recovering from small losses posted after weaker-than-expected Australian export data.
The New Zealand dollar did even better, jumping 1.0 percent to as high as $0.8264, a fresh post-float high. The yen failed to benefit from overall dollar weakness, slipping after Moody's said it had placed its rating on Japan under review for possible downgrade, less than a week after rival rating firm Fitch cut its outlook on Japan's debt.
The dollar gained 0.36 percent to 81.23 yen while the euro jumped more than 1.3 percent to 116.88 yen, its highest since May 20. The euro moved from near its support at its 100-day moving average at 115.32 yen to 116.77 yen, zeroing in on immediate resistance at its 55-day moving average at 117.43 yen. The yen also dropped 0.8 percent against sterling.