Investing.com - The euro held onto gains in Asia on Friday as a weekend deadline loomed for a deal on Greece's bailout in an otherwise mild data day in the region.
Earlier, Japan reported corporate goods prices fell 0.2% month-on-month in June, well below the 0.1% gain seen. In Australia, home loans data for May showed a drop of 6.1%, more than the 3.5% fall seen month-on-month. Housing finance investment fell 3.2%.
Elsewhere the Shanghai Composite index rose 3% at the open.
EUR/USD traded at 1.1082, up 0.41%, while AUD/USD changed hands at 0.7480, up 0.44% and USD/JPY was quoted at 121.90, up 0.46%.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.22% at 96.45.
Overnight, the dollar remained broadly higher against a basket of other major currencies on Thursday, even after data showed that U.S. jobless claims rose to their highest level since February last week as markets were jittery ahead of fresh reform proposals from Greece.
On Thursday evening, Greece presented a signed copy of an emergency bailout to its troika of creditors three hours before the expiration of a midnight deadline. Under the new proposal, Greece agreed to a strict package of reforms and spending cuts worth up to €13 billion, according to the Guardian.
In exchange for the adoption of the austerity measures, the cash-strapped nation could receive approximately €50 billion in short-term funding needed to stave off bankruptcy. The proposal reportedly also includes modest debt-relief for the Mediterranean state, ahead of key repayments owed to the European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund over the next several weeks.
European council president Donald Tusk has advocated for the inclusion of debt sustainability as a provision of the agreement.
The Greek Parliament is expected to approve the proposal on Friday before prime minister Alexis Tsipras heads to Brussels for an emergency summit over the weekend. Tsipras has also called for a meeting of Syriza party lawmakers at 0600 BST on Friday. Officials from the ECB, IMF and European Commission will now assess the revised plan ahead of the extraordinary summit.
During a frenzied week, Germany chancellor Angela Merkel has repeatedly insisted that a haircut or write-off on Greece's substantial debt obligations should remain off the negotiating table. Meanwhile, Tsipras communicated over the phone with U.S. president Barack Obama earlier in the week in an effort to convince Merkel and other top leaders from the euro zone to work feverishly to reach a deal.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported on Thursday that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending July 4 increased by 15,000 to 297,000 from the previous week’s total of 282,000. Analysts had expected initial jobless claims to fall by 7,000 to 275,000 last week.
The greenback had briefly weakened after the minutes of the Federal Reserve's June policy meeting released on Wednesday showed that policy makers need to see more signs of a strengthening U.S. economy before raising interest rates.
The minutes also pointed to concerns over Greece's financial problems, signaling that global market turmoil could derail the Fed's rate hike plans if contagion spreads.
The new proposals on Greece will be studied by euro zone finance ministers on Saturday and a full European Union summit on Sunday.
In the meantime, the Greek government extended bank closures and the €60 daily limit on cash machine withdrawals until Monday.