Euro slips after buying on Greek rescue fizzles

Photo courtesy of pygmi.gr

The euro slipped in Asian trade on Wednesday after a buying spree sparked by Greece's bailout deal fizzled owing to lingering concerns over Europe's sovereign debt problems, AFP reports. The single currency bought $1.2926 and 105.79 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade, compared with $1.2938 and 106.30 yen in New York late Tuesday. The dollar dropped to 81.85 yen from 82.16 yen. "A weaker euro-dollar rate than prior to the news yesterday of a deal to keep Greece funded and its debt levels contained, partly reflects a classic 'buy the rumour, sell the news' response," National Australia Bank said. The eurozone and International Monetary Fund agreed Tuesday to trim Greece's heavy debt load and release the latest batch of rescue fund amounting to 43.7 billion euros in exchange for promised austerity reforms. "The whole Greek situation was obviously built into currency markets so it's sold off since," said Tim Kelleher, ASB's head of FX institutional sales New Zealand. "I don't think the euro is going anywhere fast," he told Dow Jones Newswires. Worries about the US "fiscal cliff" of spending cuts and tax hikes, due to come into effect on January 1 unless a divided US congress strikes a new spending deal, may also weigh on the euro, dealers said. The euro was also weighed by uncertainty over an independence drive by debt-hit Spain's Catalonia region, dealers said. US economic data released Tuesday, however, boosted sentiment about the health of the world's biggest economy. Consumer confidence rose this month to its highest level since February 2008, while US home prices were up in September, a fresh sign of recovery for the country's troubled housing market. The dollar was mixed against other Asia-Pacific currencies. It fell to 55.46 Indian rupees from 55.77 rupees Tuesday and to 40.87 Philippine pesos from 40.91 pesos while holding steady at 9,638 Indonesian rupiah. The greenback firmed to 30.71 Thai baht from 30.69 baht, to Sg$1.2229 from Sg$1.2214, to Tw$29.13 from Tw$29.08 and to 1,085.70 South Korean won from 1,084.10 won. The Australian dollar fell to $1.0448 from $1.0480, and China's yuan dropped to 13.10 yen from 13.18 yen.

The euro slipped in Asian trade on Wednesday after a buying spree sparked by Greece's bailout deal fizzled owing to lingering concerns over Europe's sovereign debt problems, AFP reports. The single currency bought $1.2926 and 105.79 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade, compared with $1.2938 and 106.30 yen in New York late Tuesday. The dollar dropped to 81.85 yen from 82.16 yen. "A weaker euro-dollar rate than prior to the news yesterday of a deal to keep Greece funded and its debt levels contained, partly reflects a classic 'buy the rumour, sell the news' response," National Australia Bank said. The eurozone and International Monetary Fund agreed Tuesday to trim Greece's heavy debt load and release the latest batch of rescue fund amounting to 43.7 billion euros in exchange for promised austerity reforms. "The whole Greek situation was obviously built into currency markets so it's sold off since," said Tim Kelleher, ASB's head of FX institutional sales New Zealand. "I don't think the euro is going anywhere fast," he told Dow Jones Newswires. Worries about the US "fiscal cliff" of spending cuts and tax hikes, due to come into effect on January 1 unless a divided US congress strikes a new spending deal, may also weigh on the euro, dealers said. The euro was also weighed by uncertainty over an independence drive by debt-hit Spain's Catalonia region, dealers said. US economic data released Tuesday, however, boosted sentiment about the health of the world's biggest economy. Consumer confidence rose this month to its highest level since February 2008, while US home prices were up in September, a fresh sign of recovery for the country's troubled housing market. The dollar was mixed against other Asia-Pacific currencies. It fell to 55.46 Indian rupees from 55.77 rupees Tuesday and to 40.87 Philippine pesos from 40.91 pesos while holding steady at 9,638 Indonesian rupiah. The greenback firmed to 30.71 Thai baht from 30.69 baht, to Sg$1.2229 from Sg$1.2214, to Tw$29.13 from Tw$29.08 and to 1,085.70 South Korean won from 1,084.10 won. The Australian dollar fell to $1.0448 from $1.0480, and China's yuan dropped to 13.10 yen from 13.18 yen.

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