-- Euro surges to above $1.30 against dollar despite stall in Greek talks -- Australian dollar at strongest against greenback since Nov. 1, above $1.05 -- Market sentiment remains upbeat ahead of Eurogroup meeting later Monday -- Nothing on the data front, Bank of Israel to set rates at 1530 GMT By Jessica Mead Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--The euro and other currencies deemed as riskier bets shot higher in European trading hours Monday as currency traders shrugged off the apparent breakdown in the talks between the Greek government and its private sector creditors. After a wallop in Asian trading hours, the euro surged to above the key $1.30 level against the dollar as traders closed negative bets on the euro ahead of the Eurogroup meeting of the 17 euro-zone finance ministers later Monday. "Primarily the moves are down to positioning, squeezing the euro higher," said Adam Cole, chief currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets, adding that there's a good chance of further strength from here. He pointed to the latest benchmark data on speculative bets, which showed that speculative traders added marginally to their record-breaking negative euro bets in the week to Jan. 17. The euro's weakness against many other major currencies Monday suggested traders were still willing to push the single currency lower, just not against the dollar. Expectations that euro-zone finance ministers are moving closer to extending the lending capacity of the European Stability Mechanism bailout facility may also be adding to the upbeat market tone, according to currency strategists at Citigroup. The Australian dollar--one of the market's favored gauges of general optimism--traded above $1.05 against the greenback for the first time since the start of November, supported in part by lower volatility and rising commodity prices as well as softer inflation and rising loan growth from China. The New Zealand dollar also extended last week's rally to also trade at its strongest against the buck since Nov. 1. In Europe's emerging markets, all currencies with the exception of the Czech koruna tracked the euro's climb against the dollar. The Bank of Israel will set interest rates at 1530 GMT, in what is expected to be a close call. Strategists are split between unchanged and a quarter-point cut. At 1129 GMT, the euro was trading at $1.2998 against the dollar, compared with $1.2933 late Friday in New York, according to trading system EBS. The dollar was at Y76.89 against the yen, compared with Y77.02, while the euro was at Y99.92 compared with Y99.67. Meanwhile, the pound was trading at $1.5572 against the dollar, compared with $1.5576 late Friday in New York. The ICE Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies, was at 79.862 compared with 80.150 late Friday in New York. A summary of key levels for chart-watching technical strategists is below: Forex spot: EUR/USD USD/JPY GBP/USD USD/CHF Spot 1135 GMT 1.2993 76.91 1.5566 0.9287 3 Day Trend Bullish Range Bullish Bearish Weekly Trend Bearish Range Bearish Bearish 200 day ma 1.3604 78.59 1.5826 0.9032 3rd Resistance 1.3145 77.34 1.5670 0.9450 2nd Resistance 1.3077 77.27 1.5595 0.9432 1st Resistance 1.3044 77.10 1.5576 0.9393 Pivot* 1.2935 77.09 1.5535 0.9339 1st Support 1.2908 76.69 1.5495 0.9270 2nd Support 1.2854 76.55 1.5440 0.9244 3rd Support 1.2785 76.30 1.5408 0.9176 Forex spot: AUD/USD Spot 1135 GMT 1.0559 3 Day Trend Bullish Weekly Trend Bullish 200 day ma 1.0234 3rd Resistance 1.0754 2nd Resistance 1.0673 1st Resistance 1.0579 Pivot* 1.0452 1st Support 1.0499 2nd Support 1.0450 3rd Support 1.0439 -By Jessica Mead, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0) 20 7842 9256, jessica.mead@dowjones.com; @djfxtrader/@jessicacmead (Dow Jones Technical Strategist Francis Bray contributed to this article.)

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