* Euro climbs versus dollar, yen, as equities advance
* Moody's downgrade of Greece slows euro climb slightly
* Euro's downtrend remains intact on structural concerns
* Risk appetite rises; Australian dollar hits 1-month high (Updates prices, adds comment)
By Steven C. Johnson
NEW YORK, June 14 (Reuters) - The euro rose on Monday as economic data eased concern about Europe's recovery and sparked traders to buy higher-risk assets such as stocks and to reduce bets against the euro zone's single currency.
But Europe's problems did not recede from view entirely. After coming within a breath of $1.23, its highest level since early June, the euro pared gains after Moody's cut Greece's credit rating to junk status and said the country faced substantial risks. For more see [ID:nWNA3381].
Analysts said most investors had anticipated the move, which allowed them to focus instead on stronger-than-expected euro zone industrial data and extend a bout of short-covering that has added about four cents to the euro since it hit $1.1876 last week, its lowest since 2006. [ID:nLDE65D0YC]
"We've been trading with this for a long time and just the fact that the agencies finally recognize reality doesn't have too much impact," said Sebastien Galy, senior strategist at BNP Paribas in New York. "Asset managers are fairly smart people and anticipated this, as did pension funds, a long time ago."
The euro rose 0.9 percent at $1.2225
New York-based Westpac currency strategist Richard Franulovich said some traders used the downgrade as an excuse to ease their buying of euros, but added that the currency's rise "still has some legs and I see it rising to $1.24-$1.25."
TECHNICAL BARRIER BROKEN
The euro and stocks had been struggling lately on fears that debt crises in several European countries would imperil the banking sector and slow growth in the 16-country euro zone to a crawl.
But euro gains on Monday pushed it past important technical resistance for the first time since April 9, traders said.
The euro also rose 0.8 percent to 111.85 yen
BNP's Galy said investors have recovered a taste for risk and were cheered by last week's successful debt auctions in Italy, Spain and Portugal.
The high-yield Australian dollar rose 1 percent to
US$0.8580 after touching a high of US$0.8668
Sterling hit a one-month high above $1.48
NOT OUT OF THE WOODS YET
Some analysts cautioned that the euro's downtrend remained intact as concerns about the banking sector and debt problems in the euro zone are likely to persist for some time.
Recent trading data showed speculators boosted bets against the euro in the week to June 8, though net short positions were below record levels. [IMM/FX]
"From a technical perspective we hit some oversold levels, but the debt and growth issues that were weighing on the euro are still there," said Mark Frey, regional director at Custom House, a global payments dealer in Victoria, British Columbia.
"From an investment point of view, we've seen people move back in and play for a short-term move higher, but as for corporate names, there's no bid at all," Frey said. "Nobody is comfortable buying yet at these levels
Despite Monday's gains, the euro is still down almost 15 percent against the dollar this year. (Additional reporting by Wanfeng Zhou and Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Dan Grebler)