LONDON (SHARECAST) - The euro fell against the dollar on Monday despite details of the long awaited rescue package for Greece being announced the day before.
Doubts remain over whether the Greek government will be able to force through the austerity measures that the International Monetary Fund and the European Union are insisting on in return for lending Greece €110bn over three years.
The single currency dropped by a cent against the US dollar to $1.3207 in late trading in New York on Monday. The dollar index, which measures the value of the greenback against a basket of currencies, climbed to 82.316 from 81.820 on Friday afternoon.
The dollar also made headway against the Japanese yen, climbing to 94.62 yen versus Friday’s closing value of just under 94 yen.
The US currency was bolstered by consumer spending data for March. US consumer spending in real terms rose 0.5% in March to a record high after rising by a revised 0.5% in February. A splurge on car purchases was responsible for much of the rise.
With London markets closed for a bank holiday sterling had a relatively quiet time of it, easing back a tad to $1.5261.
