Euro Drops as Investors Wait for Greek Deal
The euro slipped on Tuesday with investors adjusting positions as they waited for new developments in Greek debt talks.
The common European currency fell to $1.1273 and 139.48 yen in Tokyo from $1.1340 and 139.92 yen in New York late Monday.
The dollar rose to 123.72 yen from 123.38 yen in U.S. trade.
The euro was underpinned by optimism that Greece would secure a bailout deal with its official creditors.
Nonetheless the prospect that the European Central Bank will continue to stick to its massive easing program highlights its policy divergence with the U.S. central bank, which is moving towards an interest rate hike.
Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei index was up 1.40 percent in mid-afternoon trade, reaching its highest intraday level in more than 15 years.
Greece offered economic reforms in exchange for the last payment of 7.2 billion euros from the current aid programme.
Without that money, Greece may not be able to make a 1.5-billion-euro repayment to the IMF due on June 30, risking a default and possible chaotic exit from the eurozone.
After an emergency summit in Brussels, eurozone leaders ordered their finance ministers to hold fresh talks on Wednesday to thrash out the details ahead of a full meeting of all 28 European Union leaders on Thursday.
"The next focal point will be Thursday, but that won't stop the stream of headlines, and the subsequent market twists and turns as it tries to make sense of it all," Emma Lawson, senior currency strategist at National Australia Bank, said in a note.
The dollar was largely higher against other Asia-Pacific currencies.
It rose to 1,105.13 South Korean won from 1,098.70 won on Monday, to 63.63 Indian rupees from 63.46 rupees, and to 45.14 Philippine pesos from 45.00 pesos.
The dollar also firmed to 33.75 Thai baht from 33.63 baht, to Sg$1.3393 from Sg$1.3306 and to Tw$30.83 from Tw$30.72.
The greenback fell to 13,256 Indonesian rupiah from 13,302 rupiah.
The Australian dollar dropped to 77.06 U.S. cents from 77.84 cents, while the Chinese yuan edged up to 19.90 yen from 19.76 yen.
Source: Agence France Presse
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