Investing.com - The euro remained lower against the safe haven yen on Thursday, amid fresh concerns over the risk of a default by Greece after Eurogroup head Jean-Claude Juncker said debt swap talks with the country’s private creditors were very difficult.
EUR/JPY hit 99.63 during European afternoon trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 99.79, shedding 0.50%.
The pair was likely to find short-term support at 99.23, Wednesday’s low and resistance at 100.44, the session high.
The euro slipped against the yen earlier as investors remained wary of pushing the currency too high in the absence of an announcement on a debt restructuring deal for Athens.
Earlier in the week, European officials indicated that negotiations with Greece’s private creditors on a debt writedown are almost concluded, but concerns have persisted that the debt swap deal will not go far enough to reduce the country’s debt load.
Adding to difficulties, a second bailout and any public sector involvement must also be agreed upon before a deal can be announced.
An agreement is necessary for Greece to secure its next tranche of bailout funds in order to avoid a default when a EUR14.5 billion bond repayment comes due on March 20.
The remarks overshadowed solid bond auctions by Spain and France earlier in the day, which saw borrowing costs for both countries decline.
Market sentiment found some support after better-than-forecast U.S. data on initial jobless claims.
The Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits fell by 12,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 367,000, beating expectations for a decline to 373,000.
The previous week’s figure was revised up to 379,000 from 377,000.
Jobless claims have remained below 400,000, a level historically associated with an improving labor market, in 12 of the past 14 weeks.
Elsewhere, the dollar remained close to a three month low against the yen, with USD/JPY slipping 0.15% to hit 79.06.
The strong yen prompted Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi to reiterate earlier that he remains prepared to take firm measures to curb the appreciation of the yen if necessary.
EUR/JPY hit 99.63 during European afternoon trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 99.79, shedding 0.50%.
The pair was likely to find short-term support at 99.23, Wednesday’s low and resistance at 100.44, the session high.
The euro slipped against the yen earlier as investors remained wary of pushing the currency too high in the absence of an announcement on a debt restructuring deal for Athens.
Earlier in the week, European officials indicated that negotiations with Greece’s private creditors on a debt writedown are almost concluded, but concerns have persisted that the debt swap deal will not go far enough to reduce the country’s debt load.
Adding to difficulties, a second bailout and any public sector involvement must also be agreed upon before a deal can be announced.
An agreement is necessary for Greece to secure its next tranche of bailout funds in order to avoid a default when a EUR14.5 billion bond repayment comes due on March 20.
The remarks overshadowed solid bond auctions by Spain and France earlier in the day, which saw borrowing costs for both countries decline.
Market sentiment found some support after better-than-forecast U.S. data on initial jobless claims.
The Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits fell by 12,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 367,000, beating expectations for a decline to 373,000.
The previous week’s figure was revised up to 379,000 from 377,000.
Jobless claims have remained below 400,000, a level historically associated with an improving labor market, in 12 of the past 14 weeks.
Elsewhere, the dollar remained close to a three month low against the yen, with USD/JPY slipping 0.15% to hit 79.06.
The strong yen prompted Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi to reiterate earlier that he remains prepared to take firm measures to curb the appreciation of the yen if necessary.