* Euro climbs versus dollar, yen as equities advance
* Moody's downgrade of Greece slows euro climb slightly
* Euro's downtrend remains intact on structural concerns
* Risk appetite rises; Australian dollar hits 1-month high (Adds quotes, details, updates prices, changes byline)
By Steven C. Johnson
NEW YORK, June 14 (Reuters) - The euro rose on Monday as economic data eased concern about Europe's recovery and sparked traders to buy higher-risk assets such as stocks and to reduce bets against the euro zone's single currency.
Europe's problems did not recede from view entirely. After coming within a breath of $1.23, its highest level since early June, the euro pared gains after Moody's cut Greece's credit rating to junk status and said the country faced substantial risks. For more see [ID:nWNA3381].
But analysts said most investors had anticipated the move, which allowed them to focus instead on stronger-than-expected euro zone industrial data and extend a bout of short-covering that has added some four cents to the euro since it hit $1.1876 last week, its lowest since 2006. [ID:nLDE65D0YC]
"We've been trading with this for a long time and just the facts that the agencies finally recognize reality doesn't have too much impact," said Sebastien Galy, senior strategist at BNP Paribas in New York. "Asset managers are fairly smart people and anticipated this, as did pension funds, a long time ago."
Westpac currency strategist Richard Franulovich in New York said some traders used the downgrade as an excuse to take their foot off the gas when it comes to buying euros but added the currency's rise "still has some legs and I see it rising to $1.24-$1.25."
The euro rose 1 percent at $1.2234
TECHNICAL BARRIER BROKEN
The euro and stocks had been struggling lately on fears that debt crises in several European countries would imperil the banking sector and slow growth in the 16-country euro zone to a crawl.
But its gains Monday pushed it past important technical resistance for the first time since April 9, traders said, while hedge funds were seen cutting short euro positions around $1.2150 in Asia and $1.2220 in Europe.
The euro also rose 1.1 percent to 112.22 yen
BNP's Galy said investors have recovered a taste for risk and higher-yielding investments and were cheered by successful debt auctions in Italy, Spain and Portugal last week.
The high-yield Australian dollar rose 1.1 percent to
$0.8600, after touching a high of US$0.8668
Sterling hit a one-month high against the dollar after the
UK's newly created Office for Budget Responsibility said it
expected government borrowing to fall slightly faster than
originally thought. [ID:nWEA6006] The pound was last up 1.5
percent at $1.4747
NOT OUT OF THE WOODS YET
Some analysts cautioned that the euro's downtrend remained intact as concerns about the banking sector and debt problems in the euro zone are likely to persist for some time.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed speculators boosted their bets against the euro in the week to June 8 although net short positions were below record levels. [IMM/FX]
"We have seen this kind of (bounce) happen before, only to be surprised once again to the downside," said Sacha Tihanyi, currency strategist at Scotia Capital in Toronto.
Despite Monday's gains, the euro is still down almost 15 percent against the dollar this year. (Additional reporting by Wanfeng Zhou and Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by James Dalgleish)