* Germany said ready to make commitment to Greece
* Greece asks to activate EU/IMF aid mechanism
* U.S. durables, housing numbers boost dollar (Recasts, adds quote, U.S. data, updates prices)
By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
NEW YORK, April 23 (Reuters) - The euro rebounded from one-year lows against the dollar on Friday after the German finance minister said Germany is ready to contribute to a financial aid package for debt-strapped Greece.
The statement from Germany, which had initially been reluctant to make any commitment to bail out Greece, reassured investors that the troubled country's short-term debt situation could be resolved soon.
For Germany's remarks, see [ID:nBEB004452].
Earlier on Friday, Greece sought to trigger a package of loans from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. [ID:nLDE63M0XZ]
"The German comments did lift sentiment on the euro and Greek assets, but I don't think this is going to do much for Greece in the long term." said Jacob Oubina, senior currency strategist at Forex.com in Bedminster, New Jersey.
"This is like putting a Band-Aid on a broken leg at the end of the day. Greece has to really cut spending and really reform the way its government balance sheet is structured."
The euro's rebound was limited. Analysts said the aid mechanism worth 45 billion euros ($60.49 billion) was not likely to solve Greece's longer-term problems in tackling its budget deficit. Most traders said the euro would have difficulty getting above $1.34 against the dollar.
In midday New York trading, the euro was up 0.6 percent
against the dollar at $1.3368
Earlier, the euro sank to a one-year low against the dollar of $1.3202.
"People are short-covering so we're seeing the euro rise after falling the last couple of days," said Richard Franulovich, senior currency strategist at Westpac in New York.
"But there is still a tremendous amount of skepticism in the market about this aid package and people in general are still comfortable selling the euro on any bounce.
Two measures of sovereign risk also suggested caution, reflecting concerns over possible delays in the activation of the EU/IMF aid deal.
The premium investors demand to buy Greek government bonds
rather than euro zone benchmark Bunds
For a graphic of Greek bond yields and the euro, click
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/0210/EZ_EURGR0210.gif ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
GREEK LOAN
Greece expects to receive the first tranche of funds under the EU/IMF aid package before May 19, Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou said on Friday. [ID:nATH005402]
Worries about Greece have stung demand for risky assets and boosted the dollar, considered a safe bet in uncertain times. Against a currency basket <.DXY>, the greenback hit a one-month high of 82.074 before pulling back. It was last at 81.485, down 0.1 percent on the day.
Against the yen, however, the dollar rose 0.8 percent to
94.06 yen
The greenback was boosted by U.S. data that underpinned confidence in the economic recovery, including a surge in new home sales in March and gains in new orders for long-lasting manufactured goods excluding transportation. See [ID:N23141873].
"These are some large numbers. We're looking for something between 3.5 percent and 4 percent on first-quarter GDP due out next week," said Michael Woolfolk, senior currency strategist at BNY Mellon in New York. "I think the market can go into the weekend comfortable that the U.S. recovery is still going full swing." (Additional reporting by Steven C. Johnson in New York, Graphic by Scott Barber in London; Editing by Leslie Adler) (gertrude.chavez@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646 223 6322; Reuters Messaging: gertrude.chavez.reuters.com@reuters.net))