Euro falls in London

The euro fell on Friday after the leader of the far-right party in Greece's coalition said he could not back a bailout agreement, reigniting worries about the risk of a chaotic default. The comments caused the single currency to extend earlier falls after euro zone finance ministers sought further measures from Greece before signing off on a 130 billion euro bailout package.
The euro lost 0.6 percent on the day to $1.3199, pulling well below a two-month high of $1.3322 hit on Thursday when it failed to pierce its 100-day moving average at 1.3330. "Some of our clients remain concerned that the Greek situation could worsen from here. With some event risk still very much out there, people may not be willing to keep sizeable risky positions ahead of this weekend's Greek parliamentary vote," said Valentin Marinov, currency strategist at CitiFX.
Profit-taking was also cited as a reason for the euro's softer tone. The single currency has seen strong gains since hitting a 17-month low of $1.2624 in January as the market bet Greece would hammer out its second bailout deal with international lenders.
"The topside in euro/dollar should be limited to $1.33/$1.35," said Anders Soderberg, currency analyst at SEB in Stockholm, adding the break below the $1.3215/30 area could trigger a move towards $1.3025/50.
Traders also reported a large option expiry at $1.3300. Political parties in Athens struck a long-awaited deal on harsh austerity steps necessary for a second rescue, and a debt swap deal with Greece's private bondholders was practically finalised. But Eurogroup chairman Jean-Claude Juncker said a further 325 million euros of spending cuts needed to be found and, with Greek elections looming, political assurances were needed that the plan would be implemented.
The risk-sensitive Australian dollar was a clear underperformer, pressured as the euro zone worries pushed equities lower as well as a dovish RBA quarterly statement and data showing a slump in Chinese imports. The Aussie fell 1.25 percent to $1.0656, well below a six-month high of $1.0845 hit earlier this week.
Against the yen, the euro was down around 0.5 percent on the day at 102.66 yen, off a two-month high hit on Thursday at 103.28 yen. Technical analysts said resistance was at 104.72, the top of the Ichimoku cloud, a closely watched Japanese technical indicator. Meanwhile, the dollar rose to its highest against the yen in two weeks at 77.81 yen, according to EBS data.