By Virginia Harrison, MarketWatch
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — The dollar strengthened against the euro in Asian trading hours Thursday, despite assurances by France and Germany that they would stand behind debt-stricken Greece.
The euro EURUSD -0.13% fell to $1.3722, from $1.3756 in North American trade late Wednesday.
The dollar index DXY -.00% , which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, rose to 77.004, up from 76.825 in late Wednesday
“The ongoing turmoil within the European banking system may continue to dampen the euro’s appeal, as policy makers struggle to restore investor confidence,” DailyFX analyst David Song said.
“We are likely to see an increased reliance on the European Central Bank to address the imbalances for the euro area,” Song said.
On Wednesday, the European Central Bank’s announced that two banks tapped its dollar-swap facility for $575 million in a seven-day tender. Read more on Wednesday’s currency moves.
Reassurances from France and Germany that they would support debt-stricken Greece and its place in the euro zone helped improve sentiment for Asian equities markets Wednesday, but the single currency weakened amid still-deep uncertainty on the outlook for the region.
Attention is turning to a meeting of European Union finance leaders to be held on the weekend, which will also be attended by U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
Among other currency pairs, the British pound GBPUSD +0.03% fell to $1.5759, from $1.5777 late Wednesday.
Against the Japanese yen, the dollar USDJPY +0.10% ticked up to ¥76.71, from ¥76.67.
The Australian dollar AUDUSD -0.64% also weakened, slipping to $1.0214.
Virginia Harrison is a MarketWatch reporter based in Sydney.
