The euro edged higher against the US dollar on Monday after traders who had anticipated that Greece would fail to elect a new president took profits on short euro positions, while the greenback was higher against the yen on new Japanese stimulus.
Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras' candidate, Stavros Dimas, fell short of the 180 votes needed to become president, leaving the country facing an early national election that could derail its bailout program.
Traders who had "shorted," or bet against the euro in anticipation of such an outcome took some profits from their positions. But the boost to the euro was minor, as many traders remained short the currency on the view that the European Central Bank may bolster its monetary stimulus by announcing outright purchases of government bonds.
Activity was thin ahead of the New Year holiday, with many traders having already closed out positions. Japanese markets will be shut from December 31-January 2 and reopen on January 5.
The euro was last up 0.14 percent against the dollar at $1.2193, but not far from a 28-month low of $1.2164 touched on December 23. The dollar was last up 0.22 percent against the yen at 120.65 yen. The dollar was slightly lower against the Swiss franc at 0.9867 franc.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was near flat at 90.017 after hitting nearly nine-year highs last week.