-- Worries over Greece continues, keeps pressure on euro -- Sterling firms after the BOE keeps policy unchanged -- Norwegian central bank rate decision eyed, no change seen By Jessica Mead Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--The euro hovered near multi-month lows in European trading Thursday as concerns over the political standoff in Greece weighed on investor sentiment. Sterling rose after the Bank of England left its monetary policy unchanged. The euro slipped to as low as $1.2924 against the dollar, within sight of the 15-week low struck Wednesday, before levelling off. It also sagged against the yen and Australian dollar. Trader caution kept it from sinking too sharply, amid speculation that the Greeks might have to call fresh elections after last weekend's vote boosted parties opposed to the terms of the country's international bailout and the previous coalition partners struggling to form a new government. "There's a lot of uncertainty around Greece in general. The likelihood is that if they cannot form a government, then we will get new elections. But until we hear something, the markets are going to [trade in a] range," said Saeed Amen, a currency strategist at Nomura in London. Amen added that the foreign exchange market was now increasingly at the mercy of news headlines and political developments emanating from Athens, Brussels and other euro-zone capitals. The EU said it disbursed EUR4.2 billion of aid for Greece Thursday and added that another EUR1 billion being held back would be disbursed in time to cover future funding needs. Sterling rose against the dollar and euro after the BOE held off further quantitative easing after recent data showed the U.K. economy in recession. Most economists had expected no change from the central bank's Monetary Policy Committee but there had been some market chatter of more asset purchases. Societe Generale noted ahead of the decision that inaction today could be enough to see the euro test or even break GBP0.80 against the pound for the first time since November 2008. By 1109 GMT, the pound traded at GBP0.8010 against the euro. Elsewhere, the Swedish krona took a hit after Swedish industrial production data for March disappointed, signalling a bleaker-than-expected outlook for the Nordic nation's economic output in the first three months of the year. Norway's Norges Bank is not expected to change its key interest rate of 1.5% at 1200 GMT, especially since the krone has remained broadly stable since March, when the central bank unexpectedly cut rates. After that, currency traders will be looking at U.S. March trade balance and U.S. initial weekly jobless claims data due at 1230 GMT. There are also three Federal Reserve officials slated to speak, with Chicago Fed president Charles Evans due at 1325 GMT, chairman Ben Bernanke at 1430 GMT and Minneapolis Fed president Narayana Kocherlakota at 1720 GMT. At 1109 GMT, the euro was trading at $1.2934 against the dollar, compared with $1.2927 late Wednesday in New York, according to trading system EBS. The dollar was at Y79.65 against the yen, compared with Y79.64, while the euro was at Y102.98 compared with Y103.03. Meanwhile, the pound was trading at $1.6134 against the dollar, compared with $1.6128 late Wednesday in New York. The ICE Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies, was at 80.154 compared with 80.153 late Wednesday 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 1039 GMT 1.2938 79.66 1.6111 0.9283 3 Day Trend Bearish Bearish Range Bullish Weekly Trend Bearish Bearish Bullish Bullish 200 day ma 1.3374 79.71 1.5878 0.9089 3rd Resistance 1.3045 80.40 1.6258 0.9404 2nd Resistance 1.2988 80.08 1.6197 0.9335 1st Resistance 1.2972 79.86 1.6154 0.9302 Pivot* 1.2949 79.67 1.6116 0.9276 1st Support 1.2911 79.42 1.6083 0.9262 2nd Support 1.2892 79.15 1.6065 0.9225 3rd Support 1.2854 79.00 1.6000 0.9191 Forex spot: EUR/GBP Spot 1042 GMT 0.8032 3 Day Trend Bearish Weekly Trend Bearish 200 day ma 0.8422 3rd Resistance 0.8096 2nd Resistance 0.8060 1st Resistance 0.8045 Pivot* 0.8032 1st Support 0.8004 2nd Support 0.7941 3rd Support 0.7895 -By Jessica Mead, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0) 20 7842 9256, jessica.mead@dowjones.com; @djfxtrader/@jessicacmeadFX (Charles Duxbury in Stockholm and Dow Jones Technical Strategist Francis Bray contributed to this story.)

Source