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EUR/USD relatively flat at 1.12, as Greek drama reaches the weekend

Published 06/12/2015, 05:11 PM
Updated 06/12/2015, 05:23 PM
The euro closed on Friday at 1.1262, roughly up 1.4% on the week

Investing.com -- The euro inched up against the dollar on Friday rallying from a minor sell-off one session earlier, as traders prepare for a weekend full of rhetoric in the Greek debt crisis before substantive talks resume next week.

EUR/USD gained 0.0002 or 0.03% to close the week on a strong note at 1.1262. On Friday, the pair wavered between 1.1152 and 1.1295 on a choppy day of trading. For the week, the euro rose roughly 1.4% against its American counterpart after opening on Monday at 1.1112.

The pair likely gained support at 1.0991, the low from June 1 and was met with resistance at 1.1386, the high from June 10.

One day after officials from the International Monetary Fund abruptly broke off talks with Greece in Brussels, Netherlands finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem warned that it is practically "unimaginable" for a Greek deal to be completed without the assistance of the IMF. Previously, the head of the euro group of finance ministers indicated that an agreement could be reached at next week's meeting in Luxembourg after Greece reportedly neared an incremental deal with Germany to accept some of the austerity measures proposed by chancellor Angela Merkel in exchange for receiving a portion of the remaining €7.2 billion left in a €240 billion bailout.

On Friday, Greece reportedly submitted a new proposal to its international creditors, according to the Financial Times. The proposal included concessions on debt restructuring, but did not include any pension reform – a major sticking point for the IMF. A day earlier, IMF officials cut tense negotiations short amid a wide rift in pension, tax and financing considerations between the two sides.

Greece is running out of time before the extension of the bailout expires on June 30. The cash-strapped nation also owes a bundled payment of 1.5 billion to the IMF at the end of the month.

"If the Greek government isn't willing to take difficult measures, even if they're unpopular, then Greece will never be saved," Dijsselbloem said.

Stocks among a wide sampling of Greek Banks – the National Bank of Greece, Alpha Bank, Eurobank Ergasias and Piraeus Bank SA – tumbled on Friday, each declining by more than 10% on the session.

In the U.S., the dollar pared earlier gains after reaching session-highs in U.S. morning trading. The University of Michigan in a preliminary report on Friday morning, said its consumer sentiment index rose to 94.6 this month, up from a reading of 90.7 in May. Analysts had expected a modest increase to 91.5. Economists at Michigan also said that its long-term inflation expectations beyond the next 10 years inched down to 2.7% in June from 2.8% a month earlier.

Separately, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said that its producer price index gained 0.5% in May, slightly above forecasts for a 0.4% increase. The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the strength of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, reached a session-high of 95.67,

Yields on U.S. 10-Year Treasuries inched up one basis point to 2.39%, while yields on German 10-Year bunds fell five basis points to 0.83%.

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