Investing.com - The U.S. dollar remained lower against its major counterparts on Monday, as fresh hopes for a deal with private investors on restructuring Greek debt bolstered demand for riskier assets.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar was sharply lower against the euro, with EUR/USD jumping 0.86% to hit 1.3038.
The euro found support after French Finance Minister Francois Baroin said a deal was taking shape ahead of a meeting of European Union finance ministers in Brussels.
The restructuring agreement is a precondition for Athens to receive its next tranche of bailout funds in order to avert a default when a EUR14.4 billion bond redemption comes due on March 20.
On Sunday, Greece’s creditors said they had reached their maximum offer for a voluntary debt swop and said it was now up to the EU and the International Monetary Fund to agree on whether they can accept the deal.
Also Monday, Germany sold EUR2.54 billion of 12-month Treasury bills at an auction which met with strong investor demand at very low yields.
The greenback was also lower against the pound, with GBP/USD easing up 0.09% to hit 1.5589.
Sterling’s gains were capped amid speculation that the Bank of England may announce fresh monetary easing measures as soon as next month to stimulate growth.
The greenback was almost unchanged against the yen but posted steep losses against the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY dipping 0.02% to hit 77.00 and USD/CHF dropping 0.89% to hit 0.9260.
Elsewhere, the greenback was lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD falling 0.65% to hit 1.0084, AUD/USD rising 0.61% to hit 1.0550 and NZD/USD adding 0.62% to hit 0.8113.
In Canada, official data showed that showed the index of leading economic indicators rose more-than-expected in December, ticking up 0.8% after a 0.9% increase the previous month.
Analysts had expected the leading index to rise 0.6% in December.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.62% to hit 79.78.
Also Monday, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said euro zone governments should enlarge the region’s debt firewall, in order to prevent Italy and Spain from moving closer to default.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar was sharply lower against the euro, with EUR/USD jumping 0.86% to hit 1.3038.
The euro found support after French Finance Minister Francois Baroin said a deal was taking shape ahead of a meeting of European Union finance ministers in Brussels.
The restructuring agreement is a precondition for Athens to receive its next tranche of bailout funds in order to avert a default when a EUR14.4 billion bond redemption comes due on March 20.
On Sunday, Greece’s creditors said they had reached their maximum offer for a voluntary debt swop and said it was now up to the EU and the International Monetary Fund to agree on whether they can accept the deal.
Also Monday, Germany sold EUR2.54 billion of 12-month Treasury bills at an auction which met with strong investor demand at very low yields.
The greenback was also lower against the pound, with GBP/USD easing up 0.09% to hit 1.5589.
Sterling’s gains were capped amid speculation that the Bank of England may announce fresh monetary easing measures as soon as next month to stimulate growth.
The greenback was almost unchanged against the yen but posted steep losses against the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY dipping 0.02% to hit 77.00 and USD/CHF dropping 0.89% to hit 0.9260.
Elsewhere, the greenback was lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD falling 0.65% to hit 1.0084, AUD/USD rising 0.61% to hit 1.0550 and NZD/USD adding 0.62% to hit 0.8113.
In Canada, official data showed that showed the index of leading economic indicators rose more-than-expected in December, ticking up 0.8% after a 0.9% increase the previous month.
Analysts had expected the leading index to rise 0.6% in December.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.62% to hit 79.78.
Also Monday, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said euro zone governments should enlarge the region’s debt firewall, in order to prevent Italy and Spain from moving closer to default.