LONDON: The euro bounced to a one-month high against the dollar on Tuesday after international lenders agreed a new debt target for Greece, but eased back after a Fed policymaker's comments boosted the US currency.
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher, an arch-hawk, voiced concerns at a conference in Berlin about the Fed's quantitative easing programme.
Fisher's comments helped the dollar index recoup losses. It was last trading flat at 80.250, off a four-week low of 80.022.
The euro fell to a session low of $1.29565 on trading platform EBS, well below a one-month high of $1.3010 struck earlier in the Asian session after the Greek deal was agreed.
International lenders agreed on a package of measures to reduce Greek debt by 40 billion euros, cutting it to 124 percent of gross domestic product by 2020 to release urgently needed loans to keep Greece's economy afloat.
"We think this agreement would be positive for the euro for now as this deal removes some of the tail risks out of the euro zone," said Bernd Berg, global FX strategist at Credit Suisse.
With the Greek deal out of the way, some traders said they would take profits which could wind back the single currency's recent gains. Traders cited bids at $1.2940 with near-term support at its 55-day moving average of $1.29187.
The euro had risen nearly two percent against the dollar in the past two weeks, supported by expectations for a deal on Greece and also due to optimism that US lawmakers will reach an agreement to avoid the 'fiscal cliff' of tax increases and spending cuts due to take effect next year.
Some analysts said the Greek deal was a stop-gap arrangement and the worsening economic outlook for the euro zone under relentless austerity measures would keep the euro under pressure, especially against the dollar.
"We remain unconvinced that the measures will restore long-term debt sustainability to Greece, rather they are likely to prove a short-term fix to delay more unpalatable political decisions," Lee Hardman, currency analyst at Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi said in a note.
YEN WEAKENS
The yen slipped after Japan's opposition leader, Shinzo Abe, the country's likely next prime minister after an election next month, reiterated calls for bolder monetary and fiscal stimulus to revive the country's economy.
The Japanese currency has fallen sharply over the past couple of weeks on mounting speculation that a new government after Dec. 16 general elections will coerce the Bank of Japan into easing monetary policy aggressively.
The dollar edged up 0.1 percent to 82.10 yen, still off a 7-1/2 month high of 82.84 yen hit last Thursday.
Data from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission shows that currency speculators increased their bearish bets against the yen in the week ended Nov. 20, a period when the Japanese currency began its slide.
"In the short term, until elections, I think dollar/yen should stay a bit firm," said Roy Teo, FX strategist for ABN AMRO Bank in Singapore, adding that the dollar might test the year-to-date high of 84.187 yen set in mid-March.
"We may see dollar/yen head towards this year's high but I don't see it as a sustainable move," he said.
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