Investing.com - The U.S. dollar rose more than 1% against the traditional safe-haven Swiss franc on Monday as relief over Friday’s agreement on a four-month bailout extension for Greece bolstered risk appetite.
USD/CHF hit highs of 0.9514 and was last up 1.19% at 0.9492. The euro was also higher against the Swissy, with EUR/CHF advancing 0.66% to 1.0743, not far from Friday’s five-week highs of 1.0810.
The euro zone approved the extension of Greece’s €240 billion bailout on Friday, removing concerns that the country would face a liquidity crunch when its current bailout agreement expired at the end of the month.
Markets have been hit by growing concerns over a possible Greek exit from the euro area if the country missed a debt payment.
Later Monday, Athens was to present a list of reforms to be approved by the country’s creditors in order to secure the four-month bailout extension, which will give it more time to reach a lasting agreement with its creditors.
In other trade, EUR/USD was down 0.56% to 1.1318, off the highs of 1.1428 struck in the immediate aftermath of Friday’s agreement.
The single currency came under renewed selling pressure as concerns over the conditions attached to the bailout extension kept investors cautious.
Also weighing on the euro, data on Monday showed that German business confidence rose less strongly than expected this month.
German research institute Ifo said its business climate index ticked up to 106.8 this month from 106.7 in January but was still below forecasts of 107.7.
The euro was also lower against the yen, with EUR/JPY down 0.55% to 134.72.
Earlier Monday, the minutes of the Bank of Japan’s January meeting showed that three policymakers expressed doubts the central bank can meet its inflation target because of a slowdown in underlying prices and falling oil prices.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.51% to 94.89, boosted by weakness in the euro.