RTRS: Euro nudges up from 2-year low but remains vulnerable
* Euro steadies after hitting 2-year low vs dollar
* Draghi says bold action needed by central banks, gov'ts
* Euro vulnerable, little expected from euro finmin meeting
By Julie Haviv
NEW YORK, July 9 (Reuters) - The euro recovered from a
two-year low against the dollar on Monday, but looked highly
fragile on scant hopes that a euro zone finance ministers
meeting later in the day will show progress in containing the
region's debt crisis.
Euro zone finance chiefs will try to flesh out plans to
reinforce the single currency but their talks in Brussels may do
little more than highlight the limitations of last month's deal
to help indebted states and banks.
Diminished hopes also weighed on Spanish and Italian bonds,
with yields moving back up to unsustainable levels.
In testimony on Monday, European Central Bank President
Mario Draghi said fixing Europe's debt woes required action by
both monetary and fiscal authorities.
"Effective crisis resolution needs bold actions by central
banks but it also needs bold actions by other policy actors,
notably governments," he told the European Parliament's Economic
and Monetary Affairs Committee.
"The market's overall cautious mood and a rise in Spanish
and Italian bond yields is weighing on the euro, although
reports that Spain's budget targets may be relaxed is perhaps
providing a partial offset," said Nick Bennenbroek, head of
currency strategy at Wells Fargo in New York.
European Union finance ministers are set to grant Spain
until 2014 to reach a deficit target of 3 percent of GDP, three
EU diplomats said on Monday.
"For the week ahead we expect some consolidation in FX
markets, with an overall neutral directional view on the U.S.
dollar and other currencies," Bennenbroek said.
Strategists said further rises in Spanish and Italian bond
yields could push the euro down further, potentially bringing
the 2010 low of $1.1876 into view.
But having lost more than 3 percent against the dollar last
week, the euro may have scope for a temporary rebound as traders
take profit on hefty bearish positions.
The euro was last up 0.1 percent against the dollar
at $1.2294, off a low of $1.2255 hit in thin early trade as
traders reported demand to sell the currency above $1.2300.
The euro came under pressure last week as doubts quickly
surfaced about the effectiveness of the June summit deal. It
fell further following a widely expected interest rate cut by
the European Central Bank on Thursday.
Pressure for action by European leaders is growing, but
there are nagging concerns that decisions on issues such as
banking supervision, how to use Europe's rescue money, aid to
Spain and Cyprus, and whether to grant concessions to Greece may
take months to finalize.
"If leaders couldn't agree on details, there's little chance
that the finance ministers will reach any further agreement, so
anyone betting on another positive surprise might be
disappointed," said Kimihiko Tomita, head of foreign exchange
for State Street Global Markets in Tokyo.
WEAK U.S. JOBS
U.S. jobs data on Friday showed the economy created far
fewer jobs than needed to bring down the 8.2 percent
unemployment rate, weighing on risk sentiment.
Softer-than-expected Chinese inflation data on Monday added
to concerns Europe's debt crisis was weighing on global growth,
which is likely to stoke demand for the safe-haven dollar.
The dollar was at 79.58 yen, moving away from a
two-week high of 80.099 hit on Thursday. Chart support was seen
at the 200-day moving average at 78.97 yen.
Data released early in the session showed Japan's core
machinery orders fell at a record pace in May, but the market
reaction was muted because it failed to change expectations the
Bank of Japan will stand pat on policy at its meeting this week.
(Additional reporting by Jessica Mortimer in London; Editing by
Andrea Ricci)