Euro-dollar stable ahead of ECB meeting

NEW YORK: The euro was flat against the dollar Wednesday as Greek leaders pored over a "final deal" for a debt restructu
08 Feb, 2012

At 2200 GMT the euro was trading at $1.3260, compared to $1.3261 late Tuesday.

The Japanese yen slipped against both, meanwhile: the euro rose to 102.14 yen from 101.82, while the dollar moved to 77.03 yen from 76.78.

The presentation of the Greek deal, demanding steep, specific austerity measures in exchange for a debt writedown and new financing involving hundreds of billions of euros, did not move a market long awaiting the pact.

Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos was locked in talks late Wednesday with coalition leaders to secure approval for the deal.

"Market participants have seemingly priced in the resolution of this event, considering that the euro-dollar rate has rallied 4.99 percent since January 16," said Christopher Vecchio of DailyFX.

Investors were also looking to Thursday's policy meetings at the European Central Bank and the Bank of England, both expected to keep interest rates at current low levels.

A press conference after the decisions with ECB President Mario Draghi could give hints on how strong or weak the European economy will be over the coming months, analysts said.

"Specific comments with regards to the Greek crisis and its impact on the broader euro economy are likely to take center stage with the euro likely to find solace if Draghi continues to talk down the risk of a Greek-euro exit," said Michael Boutros of DailyFX.

The dollar gained to 0.9124 Swiss francs from 0.9116 francs. The British pound slipped to $1.5818 from $1.5900.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2012

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