By: Barbara Zigah
With market hopes pinned on the Greek government, the Euro rose against the U.S. Dollar, striking a 3-week high as it approaches chart resistance that could cap near-term gains. In trading in Japan, as reported at 2:45 p.m., the Euro was trading against the greenback at $1.4431, a 0.2% gain from late New York trading; at one point it traded to a high of $1.4438 on the EBS trading platform. The Greek government is expected to outline details of its mid-term fiscal plan and austerity measures later today or tomorrow. One Forex strategist pointed out that diminishing concerns of a Greek debt restructure may push the Euro higher over the next month, perhaps to as high as $1.47.
Also supporting the Euro was a recent inflation report for the Eurozone which suggested that inflation expectations remain above the European Central Bank target of 2%, giving rise to investor speculation that another rate hike could be forthcoming. One forex strategist pointed out that
The U.S. Dollar, meanwhile, continues to be under significant pressure with recent data on consumer confidence suggesting that Americans are dubious of their own economic futures. Yesterday’s release of much worse than expected confidence data sent the greenback broadly lower.