By: Barbara Zigah
After the conclusion of the first day of the 2-day E.U. summit of finance ministers, help in the form of a rescue package for debt-burdened Greece from the International Monetary Fund and the European Union helped to boost the single currency Euro up from the 10-month low it struck yesterday.
Reported at 3:20 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the Euro traded versus the U.S. Dollar at $1.3340, a gain of .5% from yesterday’s late trade in New York on the EBS trading platform, and the highest price since May 2009. The common currency also moved up yesterday against the Japanese yen, trading at one point at 92.96 Yen, the highest trade since the beginning of the year; in today’s early trading, however, the Euro slipped back to 92.54 Yen.
Other higher yielding currencies were also trading higher in Asia; the Australian and New Zealand Dollar rose .3% and .5%, respectively, against the U.S. Dollar, to trade at $0.9105 and $0.7075.
Market players will now turn their attention back to the United States and the release of a key jobs report next week, which would be a clue as to whether or not the U.S. Dollar can continue to make gains or proof that the recent gains are merely temporary. The U.S. Dollar Index, held steady near 82.877 .DXY, a 10-month high, following sharp gains experienced over recent days as a result of increased yields on U.S. treasury notes.