The euro gained versus the dollar for a second day as French President Nicolas Sarkozy said a “breakthrough” had been made on the Greek debt crisis, following a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The shared currency strengthened against all but one of its 16 major peers tracked by Bloomberg. A solution involving holders of Greek bonds in a new rescue package for the indebted nation has been found, Sarkozy told reporters in Berlin today at a joint press conference with Merkel. The chancellor said Germany would work with the European Central Bank on the compromise deal after earlier demanding bondholders pay a substantial share of any new bailout. “This reinforces a risk-on bias,” said Mike Berg, a foreign exchange strategist at 4Cast Ltd. in London. “We’re seeing some profit taking on short euro positions.” The euro rose 0.5 percent to $1.4280 as of 11:51 a.m. in London, after weakening to $1.4128. The gain pared the euro’s second-straight weekly decline versus the dollar to 0.4 percent. The shared currency reversed an earlier 0.7 percent drop against the yen to little changed at 114.68. The dollar lost 0.5 percent to 80.26 yen. The Swiss franc was 0.2 percent stronger at 84.89 centimes per dollar, extending its leaving its decline this week to 0.7 percent. The euro appreciated 0.7 percent to buy 1.2130 francs. The 17-member euro-area currency fell earlier today on concern a Greek debt default could spread to other indebted nations in the bloc. European Union finance ministers agreed on June 14 to convene again on June 19 after failing to hammer out a deal to provide fresh aid for Greece. To contact the reporter on this story: Garth Theunissen in London gtheunissen@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Daniel Tilles at dtilles@bloomberg.net

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