Early trade in New York: euro rises

The euro rose against the dollar and yen on Wednesday as the prospect of more rounds of European Central Bank bond buying helped assuage concerns over the recently battered debt of Spain and Italy. European Central Bank Executive Board member Benoit Coeure said the ECB's bond-buying program remained an option, as the euro zone debt crisis continues to hang over markets.
His comments were a balm for benchmark 10-year Italian and Spanish debt, whose yields fell after surging on Tuesday to multi-month highs. The euro was last up 0.2 percent at $1.3112, having hit a high of $1.3156. Traders said it was propped up by demand from hedge funds as well as sovereign names earlier reportedly buying on dips. The dollar was up 0.4 percent at 80.96 yen, after earlier in the global session dropping to 80.57, according to Reuters data, its lowest level since March 7. The euro was up 0.6 percent at 106.12 yen, recovering from an earlier seven-week trough of 105.42 yen.