By Virginia Harrison, MarketWatch
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — The dollar turned higher during Asia trading Monday, gaining against the euro as financial troubles in Greece and Spain fanned fears about the debt-stricken currency bloc.
The ICE dollar index DXY +0.20% , which measures the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, rose to 79.517, from 79.323 in North American trade late Friday. The rival WSJ dollar index XX:BUXX +0.18% rose to 69.48 from late Friday’s 69.31.
The euro EURUSD -0.2870% fell to $1.2949, down from $1.2989 late Friday.
Greece was back in the spotlight Monday following weekend reports the country faces a budget shortfall nearly double previous estimates to satisfy international conditions for emergency aid. See: Troika reportedly puts Greece's budget gap at $26 billion.
There were also separate reports that French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said Greece could be given more time to meet the goals imposed by its international creditors. See: French PM says Greece may get more time.
Traders also monitored developments from Spain, as reports last week said the country was working on a package of economic reforms and could apply for a international bailout as early as this week.
However, global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman Marc Chandler said “we do not anticipate a formal request by Spain until mid-October at the earliest.”
Also Monday, the British pound GBPUSD -0.1232% slipped to $1.6215, down from $1.6252 in North America late Friday.
The dollar edged lower against the Japanese yen USDJPY -0.1369% to change hands at ÂĄ78.04, down from ÂĄ78.12 Friday.
The Australian dollar AUDUSD -0.3231% fell to $1.0420, down from $1.0451.
Virginia Harrison is a MarketWatch reporter based in Sydney.
