By: Barbara Zigah

Following yesterday’s announcement by E.U. policymakers that a deal to bailout Greek debt has been worked out, the Euro continues to hold on to its gains against the U.S. Dollar. As reported at 3:12 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the Euro rose to $1.440, a 2-week peak, before retreating to $1.4390. Analysts predict that the Euro could target near $1.4455 in the short term, with a target of $1.4520 beyond that which would be a 61.8% retracement of the Euro’s declines since May. The measure of Euro volatility also fell below 12% from the 13% pre-summit level. Against the safe haven Swiss Franc, the Euro has gained 3.5% from the historic low of 1.1365 Swiss Francs struck earlier in the week.

The Dollar continues to be under significant pressure as the ongoing debt ceiling impasse in Washington, D.C. drags on toward the August 2nd deadline. The U.S. Dollar Index was recently trading at 74.096 .DXY, only slightly off the 73.889 .DXY low struck yesterday. The U.S. Dollar Index is a measure off the greenback’s value against a weighted basket of major currencies. The U.S. Dollar is also lower against other safe haven currencies, including the Japanese Yen, trading at 4-month low of 78.22 Yen.