Investing.com - The euro was higher against almost all of its global counterparts on Monday, as expectations that Europe would approve a second bailout for Greece and the introduction of fresh monetary easing by China sparked a risk rally.
During European late morning trade, the euro rallied to a one-week high against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD jumping 0.91% to hit 1.3256.
Speaking ahead of a meeting of euro zone finance ministers set for later Monday, Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said negotiations on the EUR130 billion bailout and a linked debt restructuring deal would continue until the last minute but added that Greece has met all the conditions demanded by its creditors.
“We expect the long period of uncertainty, that benefitted neither the Greek economy nor the euro zone overall, to end today”, Venizelos said.
Without a bailout, Greece faces the threat of defaulting when a EUR14.5 billion bond redemption comes due on March 20.
The single currency was trading close to a three-month high against the broadly weaker yen, with EUR/JPY advancing 0.91% to hit 105.47.
The yen came under pressure earlier after official data showed that Japan posted a record JPY1.47 trillion trade deficit in January, fanning concerns that the strong yen is having a negative impact on the country’s largely export driven economy.
Meanwhile, rating agency Standard & Poor's said earlier that the outlook on Japan's AA- sovereign credit rating remained negative and warned that it expected Japan's fiscal flexibility "to continue to diminish."
The euro was higher against the pound, with EUR/GBP rising 0.67% to hit 0.8357.
In the U.K., a report by property website Rightmove showed that average asking prices for houses jumped 4.1% in February, the highest monthly increase since April 2002, indicating increasing confidence in the housing market.
The euro was steady against the Swiss franc, with EUR/CHF inching up 0.05% to hit 1.2093.
Elsewhere, the euro remained within striking distance of recent record lows against the Australian and New Zealand dollars, with EUR/AUD adding 0.19% to hit 1.2295 and EUR/NZD slipping 0.17% to hit 1.5754.
The euro pushed higher against the Canadian dollar, with EUR/CAD climbing 0.33% to hit 1.3143.
Commodity linked currencies remained supported after the People’s Bank of China said Saturday that it was to cut the reserve requirement ratios of major commercial lenders in an attempt to boost liquidity and spur growth in the world’s second largest economy.
Trade volumes were expected to remain light on Monday, as markets in the U.S. were to remain closed for the Presidents Day holiday.
During European late morning trade, the euro rallied to a one-week high against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD jumping 0.91% to hit 1.3256.
Speaking ahead of a meeting of euro zone finance ministers set for later Monday, Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said negotiations on the EUR130 billion bailout and a linked debt restructuring deal would continue until the last minute but added that Greece has met all the conditions demanded by its creditors.
“We expect the long period of uncertainty, that benefitted neither the Greek economy nor the euro zone overall, to end today”, Venizelos said.
Without a bailout, Greece faces the threat of defaulting when a EUR14.5 billion bond redemption comes due on March 20.
The single currency was trading close to a three-month high against the broadly weaker yen, with EUR/JPY advancing 0.91% to hit 105.47.
The yen came under pressure earlier after official data showed that Japan posted a record JPY1.47 trillion trade deficit in January, fanning concerns that the strong yen is having a negative impact on the country’s largely export driven economy.
Meanwhile, rating agency Standard & Poor's said earlier that the outlook on Japan's AA- sovereign credit rating remained negative and warned that it expected Japan's fiscal flexibility "to continue to diminish."
The euro was higher against the pound, with EUR/GBP rising 0.67% to hit 0.8357.
In the U.K., a report by property website Rightmove showed that average asking prices for houses jumped 4.1% in February, the highest monthly increase since April 2002, indicating increasing confidence in the housing market.
The euro was steady against the Swiss franc, with EUR/CHF inching up 0.05% to hit 1.2093.
Elsewhere, the euro remained within striking distance of recent record lows against the Australian and New Zealand dollars, with EUR/AUD adding 0.19% to hit 1.2295 and EUR/NZD slipping 0.17% to hit 1.5754.
The euro pushed higher against the Canadian dollar, with EUR/CAD climbing 0.33% to hit 1.3143.
Commodity linked currencies remained supported after the People’s Bank of China said Saturday that it was to cut the reserve requirement ratios of major commercial lenders in an attempt to boost liquidity and spur growth in the world’s second largest economy.
Trade volumes were expected to remain light on Monday, as markets in the U.S. were to remain closed for the Presidents Day holiday.