Despite continuing investor concerns over the heavily debt burdened nation of Greece, the single currency Euro inched up in Asian trading today, hovering close to a 9-month trough versus the U.S. Dollar. Once again, a meeting of finance ministers from the Euro-zone failed to produce a definitive plan to help those countries within the Zone which are fiscally troubled, including not only Greece, but Spain and Portugal.
At the conclusion of the E.U. meeting yesterday, the chief of the E.U., Jean-Claude Junker commented that ministers want to see a proposal from Greece by March 16th in which they outline their plans to meet specific targets. Only if they appear “off course” will additional measures by required.
As reported at 12:44 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the Euro traded at $1.3622, a .2% rise, and only slightly off of last Friday’s 9 month low.
Another high yielding currency, the Australian Dollar, also saw gains in Asian trading, following the release of minutes from the recent Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) meeting which continues to suggest that an interest rate hike will be forthcoming.
Versus the U.S. Dollar, the Australian Dollar traded at $0.8904, up from $0.8885 in late trading in London yesterday.