By Sarah Turner, MarketWatch
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — The euro gained against the dollar on Monday, after the Greek parliament passed a package of austerity measures, making it more likely the country will receive further international financial aid and avoid a messy default.
The euro EURUSD +0.39% traded at $1.3250, up from $1.3165 in late North American trading Friday.
The parliamentary approval in Greece paved the path for a “relief rally in risk assets,” said strategists at RBC Capital Markets.
The approval means Greece’s second bailout could be formally signed off at a euro-zone summit in early March, RBC Capital Markets said.
Greece has a €14.5 billion ($19.1 billion) bond repayment due on March 20 and requires the bailout funding in place in order to be able to make that payment and avoid a hard default. Read more on Greek parliamentary approval.
Still, the RBC strategists said Monday: “We are still some way off from that end goal. It’s a tight timetable, with potential for missteps, ensuring headline risk will remain elevated.”
The ICE dollar index DXY -0.35% , which measures the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, declined to 78.756 on Monday, from 79.149 in late trading at the end of last week.
Against the Japanese yen USDJPY +0.12% , the dollar bought ÂĄ77.59, slipping from ÂĄ77.61 at the end of last week.
The British pound GBPUSD +0.10% traded at $1.5792, up from $1.5734 in late North American trading on Friday, while the Australian dollar AUDUSD +0.55% reached $1.0741, up from $1.0657.
Sarah Turner is MarketWatch's bureau chief in Sydney.
