Investing.com - The euro rose to a two-month high against the yen on Thursday, as sentiment was boosted by reports that Greek coalition leaders had agreed on a bailout deal and after better-than-expected U.S. employment data.
EUR/JPY hit 102.76 during European afternoon trade, the pair’s highest since December 13; the pair subsequently consolidated at 102.70, adding 0.54%.
The pair was likely to find support at 101.64, the low of February 8 and resistance at 103.25, the high of November 25.
According to government sources, Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos declared that an agreement was reached and endorsed by the major Greek political parties on a set of new austerity measures needed in order to secure a second bailout package.
The news came only hours before a meeting of euro zone finance ministers in Brussels to discuss the Greek EUR130 billion bailout.
Sentiment also found support after data showed that U.S. unemployment claims fell more-than-expected last week, falling to 358,000 and beating expectations for a decline to 370,000.
Earlier Thursday, the European Central Bank said it was maintaining the benchmark interest rate at a record-low 1.0% for the second consecutive month, in line with market expectations.
Meanwhile investors remained focused on the ECB’s press conference, amid expectations that ECB President Mario Draghi could flag a possible rate cut next month.
The yen was also sharply lower against the U.S. dollar with USD/JPY climbing 0.33%, to hit 77.29.
Also Thursday, government data showed that Japanese core machinery orders fell more-than-expected in December, tumbling 7.1% after a 14.8 rise the previous month.
Analysts had expected core machinery orders to fall 4.8% in December.
EUR/JPY hit 102.76 during European afternoon trade, the pair’s highest since December 13; the pair subsequently consolidated at 102.70, adding 0.54%.
The pair was likely to find support at 101.64, the low of February 8 and resistance at 103.25, the high of November 25.
According to government sources, Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos declared that an agreement was reached and endorsed by the major Greek political parties on a set of new austerity measures needed in order to secure a second bailout package.
The news came only hours before a meeting of euro zone finance ministers in Brussels to discuss the Greek EUR130 billion bailout.
Sentiment also found support after data showed that U.S. unemployment claims fell more-than-expected last week, falling to 358,000 and beating expectations for a decline to 370,000.
Earlier Thursday, the European Central Bank said it was maintaining the benchmark interest rate at a record-low 1.0% for the second consecutive month, in line with market expectations.
Meanwhile investors remained focused on the ECB’s press conference, amid expectations that ECB President Mario Draghi could flag a possible rate cut next month.
The yen was also sharply lower against the U.S. dollar with USD/JPY climbing 0.33%, to hit 77.29.
Also Thursday, government data showed that Japanese core machinery orders fell more-than-expected in December, tumbling 7.1% after a 14.8 rise the previous month.
Analysts had expected core machinery orders to fall 4.8% in December.