By Chris Oliver, MarketWatch
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — The euro and Australian dollar rose against the U.S. dollar in Asian trading hours Thursday after European leaders announced an agreement on writedowns for private holders of Greek government bonds.
The euro EURUSD +0.51% breached the $1.40 level before easing back slightly to $1.3955, up from its level of $1.3911 in late North American trading on Wednesday.
The Australian dollar AUDUSD +0.84% got an even larger boost from the European news, rising to $1.0469 from $1.0393 late Wednesday.
The moves came after European leaders said early Thursday that private-sector holders of Greek government debt will take a 50% writedown on the value of their holdings. See report on Europe’s Greek bond deal.
The Japanese yen USDJPY -0.18% saw less reaction, with the dollar buying ¥76.06, compared to ¥76.19 late Wednesday afternoon in New York.
The dollar index DXY -0.52% , which tracks the greenback against six other major currencies, slipped to 75.950 from 76.207, while the British pound GBPUSD +0.22% rose to $1.6003 from $1.5967.
Chris Oliver is MarketWatch's Asia bureau chief, based in Hong Kong.
