Euro gains against dollar

The euro rose against the dollar on Friday, capping off its best week since late April, as European officials said Greece should be able to shoulder its heavy debt burden without restructuring. But the safe-haven Swiss franc was the day's top performer, rising to record peaks against the dollar and euro.
--- Greek central bank head: Greece can repay debt in full
--- Weak run of data undermines US dollar
--- Result of IMF Greece review due next week
Traders said the move indicated investors were still worried about Europe's debt crisis and a divisive US budget debate. US markets will be closed Monday for Memorial Day. The euro pushed above $1.43 for the first time in a week after Greek central bank chief George Provopoulos said the country will repay its debts in full without restructuring if it sticks to a fiscal austerity plan.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy also lent support when he said France opposed a Greek debt restructuring and would defend the euro. It last traded at $1.4272, up 1 percent. Dean Popplewell, chief strategist at OANDA, said the euro, which fell more than 3 percent against the dollar two weeks ago, may have bottomed for now, particularly if Greece passes a review by the International Monetary Fund next week and receives the next 12 billion euro tranche of a joint IMF-European Union emergency aid package.
Danske Bank chief analyst Allan von Mehren said he expects the IMF to pay the 12 billion euros due next month. "If not, it would not only be seen as a Greek failure, but also an IMF" failure after the scandal involving ex-IMF head Dominique-Strauss-Kahn, he said.
BNY Mellon strategist Michael Woolfolk said worries about Greece and other indebted euro zone countries would probably have pushed the euro lower if not for Chinese euro buying. China said, this week it was interested in buying bailout bonds for Portugal.
"The market wants to sell the euro on rallies but the Chinese are happy to buy on dips," he said. The Greek government and opposition are still at odds over adopting more debt-cutting measures.
The euro did hit a record low of 1.2147 Swiss francs, while the dollar fell to 0.8511 francs, also a record trough. "Switzerland is like Germany from an economic standpoint in that it's growing quickly," said BMO Capital Markets strategist Andrew Busch. "Unlike Germany, Switzerland is not part of the euro currency and therefore is not on the hook for bailing out the periphery countries."
Worries about the US growth outlook also enhanced the Swiss currency's appeal. A weaker-than-expected consumer spending report on Friday and a sharp slide in pending home sales added to a recent run of soft US data. Markets expect tepid growth in the world's biggest economy to keep US interest rates at zero well into 2012, undermining the dollar's appeal to global investors.
The ICE Futures' dollar index, measured against six major currencies, fell 0.8 percent to 74.974. Investors were also worried about attempts to cut the US debt burden after Democrats and Republicans hit an impasse over taxes and healthcare. Kit Juckes, head of foreign exchange research at Societe Generale, said the bank likes playing dollar weakness against sterling and the New Zealand dollar. The former hit a two week high of $1.6510, while the latter hit a three-year peak against the greenback. The dollar also fell 0.6 percent to 80.86 yen.