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FOREX-Euro falls as market sees no Greek quick fix

Published 03/15/2010, 08:17 AM
Updated 03/15/2010, 08:20 AM
EUR/USD
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* Euro down 0.3 percent vs dlr at $1.3721

* EU finmins seen agreeing on some form of Greek help

* But analysts say package will not be quick fix

(Adds quote, detail)

By Neal Armstrong

LONDON, March 15 (Reuters) - The euro slipped on Monday on concerns that any potential financial aid package for Greece would not be enough to ease overall sovereign debt concerns within the euro zone.

Euro zone finance ministers are expected to agree on Monday on a way of providing Greece with financial aid to tackle its debts, but France warned against expecting any hard figures and said barriers to a deal remained.

While the market focused on the ministers' meeting in Brussels, analysts said anyone hoping for a quick resolution to the Greek debt issue would be disappointed.

"I don't see anything solid coming out of Brussels and the overall picture is little changed," said Maurice Pomery, managing director at consultants Strategic Alpha.

At 1129 GMT, the euro was trading down 0.3 percent on the day at $1.3721, retreating from a three-week high of $1.3796 hit on Friday after euro zone industrial orders data beat forecasts.

Data released on Monday, however, showed euro zone employment fell in the fourth quarter, highlighting the region's fragile recovery. See

"The Brussels meeting is in focus today but we still think there is no quick fix for the Greek problem. We still think the euro will go down overall," said SEB chief currency strategist Johan Javeus in Stockholm.

Traders said there were reports in the market of large option-related sell orders on the approach to $1.3800.

The dollar reversed Friday's losses to hold a slightly firmer tone after a drop in Asian stocks had prompted some investors to shy away from riskier assets.

Ratings company Moody's said the credit ratings of the United States, UK, France, Germany and Spain were safe but risks to their top-notch status had grown.

The dollar traded up around 0.3 percent against a basket of currencies at 80.048. Versus the yen, the greenback was up around 0.2 percent at 90.69 yen.

Data released on Friday showed currency speculators trimmed bets in favour of the dollar for the second straight week and raised bets against the euro to a record high.

"We remain bearish the euro, and continue to target EUR/USD at $1.30 on a 3-month view given that uncertainty regarding the fiscal positions of several euro zone members is unlikely to fade quickly," UBS analysts said in a note.

Sterling was the day's biggest mover, falling 1 percent against the dollar to a session low of $1.5019 on persistent worries about a weak UK economic outlook and on political uncertainty ahead of a general election expected in May.

BOJ AND FED

Many investors remained sidelined ahead of policy meetings by the Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan this week.

The Bank of Japan starts a two-day meeting on Tuesday at which, sources said, it is leaning towards easing monetary policy again.

In contrast, solid retail sales data offered the U.S. dollar support against the yen, heading into a week when the Federal Reserve's policy setting committee meets on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Jessica Mortimer and Neal Armstrong)

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