Investing.com - The euro pushed higher against the dollar on Thursday as investors remained on edge ahead of a Greek referendum on Sunday which would decide the country’s future in the euro zone.
EUR/USD was up 0.21% to 1.1075, not far from Monday’s one-month lows of 1.0953.
Hopes for a last minute deal between Greece and the euro zone were quashed on Wednesday after Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras urged voters to reject the terms of an international bailout deal.
Greek voters are due to decide on Sunday whether to accept terms proposed by the institutions overseeing the country’s now-expired bailout, the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission, or reject them.
Tsipras has said a vote against the proposals would give him a stronger mandate to agree a third bailout Greece’s creditors. However, European leaders have said the referendum is ultimately a vote on whether to remain in the euro zone.
Greece became the first developed country to default on the IMF after its second bailout program expired late Tuesday.
The ECB maintained its limits on emergency liquidity for Greek banks on Wednesday and also made no changes to the amount of collateral banks must post to obtain the funding.
The default by Greece has added to fears over the country’s solvency and fueled doubts over the condition of Greek banks and the collateral they use for ECB loans.
The decision means that capital controls will remain in place in Greece, keeping banks shuttered until after Sundays vote.
The Greek government ordered an emergency shutdown of its banking system for six days starting on Monday and ATM withdrawals are limited to €60 a day.
The single currency was higher against the softer yen, with EUR/JPY up 0.47% to 136.78.
The dollar was also higher against the yen, with USD/JPY up 0.22% to 123.43.
The greenback remained supported ahead of a flurry of U.S. data later in the day, including the closely watched government nonfarm payrolls report, which could underline expectations for a rate hike.
The dollar was boosted after data on Wednesday showed that the U.S. private sector added the most jobs in six months in June and manufacturing activity also picked up.
The reports indicated that the economy is gaining momentum after a weak first quarter.
Investors were looking to the latest employment report for signs of improvement in the labor market, which the Federal Reserve has said is a key factor in deciding when to start hiking interest rates.
The report was being release one day ahead of schedule as U.S. markets were to be closed on Friday for the July 4 holiday.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was little changed at 96.41.