Forexpros - The euro hit a seven-month high against the broadly weaker yen on Thursday, as expectations for more easing by the Bank of Japan and hopes that a deal on a delayed bailout payment for Greece is close boosted the single currency. EUR/JPY hit 106.58 during European late morning trade, the pair’s highest since April 27; the pair subsequently consolidated at 106.37, gaining 0.47%. The pair was likely to find support at 105.70, the session low and resistance at 107.64, the high of April 26. The euro found support after encouraging manufacturing data out of the euro zone and China bolstered investor confidence. Germany’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose to 46.8 in November, up from 46.0 in October and better than forecasts for a reading of 45.9. However, the country’s services PMI came in at 48.0, below expectations for a reading of 48.5. The euro zone’s manufacturing PMI rose to 46.2 this month from 45.4 in October, above expectations for a reading of 45.6. But the euro zone’s services PMI declined to 45.7, from 46.0 in October, compared to expectations for a reading of 46.1. The data came after a report earlier showed that China’s preliminary HSBC manufacturing PMI rose to 50.4 in November, up from a final reading of 49.5 in October. The data eased concerns over a slowdown in the world’s largest economy. The euro was also supported after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said an agreement to unlock a delayed bailout installment for Greece was still possible when euro zone finance ministers resume talks on Monday. Talks between finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund ended without a deal on Tuesday, amid disagreements on how best to reduce the country’s debt to sustainable levels. Elsewhere Thursday, Spain successful auctioned EUR3.38 billion of three and five-year bonds at lower yields than previously, easing pressure on Madrid to seek a bailout. The yen remained broadly weaker amid expectations that upcoming elections on December 16 will result in growing political pressure on the BoJ to implement more aggressive monetary easing measures. Demand for the yen was also hit after official data on Tuesday showed that exports fell for a fifth month in October, down 6.5% year-on-year, bringing the trade deficit to a wider-than-forecast JPY549 billion. The euro hit session highs against the U.S. dollar and the pound, with EUR/USD up 0.31% to 1.2868 and EUR/GBP rising 0.32% to 0.8067. Trade volumes were expected to remain light on Thursday, with U.S. markets closed for the Thanksgiving holiday.

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