TOKYO: The euro strengthened Wednesday as investors bet Greece is nearing a bailout deal with its international creditors that would avoid a default and possible eurozone exit.
The 19-nation currency rose to $1.1297 and 140.51 yen in Tokyo trade from $1.1280 and 140.23 yen in New York.
Cash-strapped Athens submitted new proposals Tuesday to end a standoff with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund before the latest rescue package expires at the end of June.
The EU's top official for the euro said Greece and the creditors could be just days from reaching a bailout deal as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras warned that failure could sink the eurozone.
The creditors have demanded tough reforms in exchange for giving Athens the final 7.2 billion euros ($8.1 billion) of its bailout funds.
"I would say that reaching the agreement within coming days is possible," Valdis Dombrovskis, the EU vice president for the euro, told reporters.
Failure to reach a deal so far has sparked concerns that Greece could default on its debt and likely tumble out of the eurozone, roiling global markets.
In other trading, the dollar was changing hands at 124.53 yen, little changed from 124.31 yen in New York Tuesday.
Expectations that the US central bank will start raising interest rates before the year's end -- a plus for the dollar -- were amplified on Tuesday after the JOLTS (Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey) report showed a surge in job vacancies.
Separately, a small business survey showed businesses were hiring more people and paying them more.
"The dollar is undergoing an adjustment to its strength right now as solid fundamentals are countered by worries about the negative side of the strong dollar," said Masato Yanagiya, head of foreign exchange and money trading at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking.
But "with firm data supporting the view for a September rate hike, it's difficult to stop the appreciation of the dollar," he told Bloomberg News.
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