BLBG:Euro Advances From Three-Week Low Versus Dollar Before Greek Swap Deadline
The euro strengthened from a three- week low against the dollar on speculation private investors will accept terms of a Greek bond exchange needed for the nation to receive a second rescue package.
The 17-nation currency rallied amid speculation options traders bought it to prevent automatic trades from triggering after recent declines. Australia’s dollar reached a six-week low versus the greenback after a government report showed the economy expanded by less than analysts had forecast.
The euro gained 0.2 percent to $1.3136 at 8:01 a.m. London time, after dropping to $1.3103 yesterday, the weakest level since Feb. 16. The currency was little changed at 106.13 yen after sliding 1.6 percent yesterday. The yen appreciated 0.1 percent to 80.78 per dollar.
Australia’s currency was little changed at $1.0566 after weakening to $1.0509, the lowest since Jan. 25.
Societe Generale SA, France’s second-biggest bank, Assicurazioni Generali SpA and UniCredit SpA joined companies saying they would participate in Greece’s debt swap as the country threatened to compel holdouts to take part.
The euro has weakened 3.1 percent in the past six months, according to Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes that track 10 developed-nation currencies. The dollar has strengthened 4.4 percent, and the yen dropped 2.3 percent.
To contact the reporters on this story: Keith Jenkins in London at kjenkins3@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Daniel Tilles at dtilles@bloomberg.net