The euro fell against the dollar on Wednesday as attention shifted to strong US data and the prospect for a Federal Reserve rate hike this year, after Greece's Prime Minister signalled he would accept creditors' bailout offer with some conditions. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told international creditors Athens could accept their bailout offer if some conditions were changed, but Germany said it could not negotiate while Greece was headed for a referendum on the aid-for-reforms deal.
Tsipras' offer came after Greece's default on its International Monetary Fund loans on Tuesday. Trade volumes have been relatively limited as traders await the weekend vote by Greeks on whether to accept bailout conditions for international aid. That optimism allowed traders to focus on strong US economic data released on Wednesday, which supported the view that the Federal Reserve could hike rates by September. That, in turn, boosted the US dollar since rate hikes are expected to lift the greenback by driving investment flows into the United States.
"The market reaction is saying that we are shifting toward a more market-friendly outcome with regard to Greece," said Richard Franulovich, senior currency strategist at Westpac in New York. The euro was last down 0.75 percent against the dollar at $1.10710. The dollar was last up 0.53 percent against the yen at 123.125 yen. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was last up 0.63 percent at 96.073.
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