Ongoing Greek debt talks sidelined currency investors on Thursday, demonstrating their unwillingness to take bold positions as deadlines for a deal come and go, leaving the euro unchanged against the greenback. Even upbeat US economic data did little to help the dollar advance. US consumer spending recorded its largest increase in nearly six years on strong demand for automobiles and other big-ticket items, bolstering evidence of gathering growth momentum in the second quarter.
"Watching Greek headlines. That's kind of holding markets back," said Vassili Serebriakov, currency strategist at BNP Paribas in New York. "This week we have seen appetite to start rebuilding dollar long positions," he said. "Markets are feeling more confident that US data is rebounding and the dollar will do well."
The euro was down just 0.07 percent at $1.11970, hemmed in on the upside by the 20-day moving average of $1.1230 on the EBS trading platform. Earlier, the Swiss franc fell to a 10-day low against the euro after the head of the Swiss National Bank said it was "considerably over-valued" and that the SNB would continue to intervene in currency markets. In midday New York trade, the euro was up 0.37 percent at 1.05010 Swiss francs.
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