The euro advanced across the board on Friday, jumping more than 2 percent against the yen, on optimism Greece was making progress in efforts to secure funding and stay in the euro zone. The yen and the Swiss franc, which tend to do well during turmoil in financial markets, both lost ground as demand for riskier assets also picked after Chinese shares rebounded.
Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem said on Friday euro zone finance ministers may make a "major decision" when they hold an emergency session on Saturday to weigh the Greek proposal. Many in the market were optimistic, although there was a degree of caution about holding large bets going into the weekend. "Should Greece find a momentary fit to its budgetary problems and stay in the euro zone, it would peel away a thick layer of uncertainty for the euro," said Joe Manimbo, senior market analyst at Western Union Business Solutions in Washington.
"The problem, though, is that it would expose a fundamental wound for the euro, the bloc's weak economy which remains in need of the ECB's strong policies of rock-bottom interest rates." The euro climbed to a one-week high against the yen of 137.27 yen and was last at 136.99, up 2.4 percent. The euro zone common currency was on track for its largest one-day gain since April 2013. Against the dollar, the euro was up 1.2 percent at $1.1167 as Athens sent a proposal for reforms to its creditors. . It hit a one-week high of $1.1215 and was on pace for its best daily performance in a month.
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