RTRS:FOREX-Euro struggles vs dollar, stung by bailout bickering
* Euro's break below tech level triggers more selling
* Demand low for risky FX despite higher stocks
* Euro struggles on Greek bailout spat
By Naomi Tajitsu
LONDON, Aug 30 (Reuters) - The euro fell broadly on Tuesday
after it broke below a key technical level against the dollar
and as it continued to be affected by bickering between euro
zone countries about the terms of a Greek bailout deal.
Investors brushed off gains in European shares, which would
tend to boost the euro. Market participants, including London
traders returning from a holiday on Monday, focused instead on
divisions among euro zone countries on how to solve the bloc's
debt problems.
The market was also awaiting minutes, due later in the day,
from the Federal Reserve's policy meeting earlier this month.
Any suggestion that more stimulus may be needed to boost the
fragile U.S. recovery is expected to spur selling in the dollar.
The euro fell 0.7 percent on the day to a session low
around $1.4400, retreating from a two-month high of $1.4550 hit
on Monday, despite a 0.7 percent rise in European shares
.
Against the Swiss franc, the single currency
slipped 0.2 percent to 1.1818 francs, retreating from a
seven-week high around 1.1970 hit the previous day.
Reuters on Monday reported detailed proposals put forward by
Finland regarding its demand for collateral in return for
providing more aid to Greece.
Helsinki's demands for collateral have sparked requests from
countries including Austria, the Netherlands, Slovenia and
Slovakia for similar treatment, and could jeopardise euro zone
attempts to save Athens from default.
"We're getting a bit of noise about what the euro zone is up
to, what it's not up to and what it should be up to," said
Geoffrey Yu, currency strategist at UBS.
"It's getting so convoluted, all the demands from smaller
states like Finland, Austria, Slovakia ... If this is going to
be the case for a while to come, people are going to be
concerned that the crisis is going to drag on."
DOLLAR RISKS
The euro fell sharply from a session high of $1.4533. Losses
accelerated after it pushed below a technical pivot point around
$1.4470, which triggered stop-loss selling in the single
currency.
"People going long on euro/dollar are very quick to
liquidate, and to take profit on those positions, so it will be
tough for the euro to rise beyond $1.4570," Niels Christensen,
currency strategist at Nordea in Copenhagen, said, referring to
a high hit in early July.
Market participants cited euro selling against the dollar by
eastern European and U.S. names .
The dollar rose 0.4 percent against a currency
basket, helped by investors seeking a safe haven for their cash,
although many in the market see a growing likelihood of another
bout of quantitative easing (QE) by the U.S. central bank, which
would weaken the dollar.
QE would flood the financial system with more dollars and
probably boost stocks, higher yielding currencies and the euro.
Fed chief Ben Bernanke acknowledged slower-than-hoped-for
growth in the U.S. economy in a speech late last week, but did
not make clear the central bank would step in, saying only it
would hold a longer policy meeting this month to consider its
options.
Data on Monday showing a rise in U.S. consumer spending
suggested the economy is not falling back into recession,
although the risk remains that the economy will continue to
struggle but not enough to push the Fed into action.
The New Zealand dollar rallied to its strongest in
nearly a month after data showing a 13 percent rise in New
Zealand home building approvals in July added to signs the
economy is recovering.
But other commodity-related currencies suffered, including
the Australian dollar , which retreated from the day's
high to trade 0.2 percent lower on the day.
The U.S. dollar slipped 0.1 percent to 76.80 yen, but
stayed above an all-time low around 75.94 set earlier in the
month, as market players remained wary of possible yen-selling
intervention by Japanese authorities.
Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda, who oversaw Japan's massive
intervention earlier this month, was voted in as prime minister
on Tuesday, suggesting no change in Japan's currency policy.
The dollar slipped 0.3 percent to 0.8130 Swiss francs
as the franc clawed back after selling off on news late last
week that UBS was considering charging a fee to deter
clients from hoarding the safe-haven currency.
The franc's gains were capped though by expectations the
Swiss central bank may take more measures to weaken the
currency.