MW: Euro slips after Greece fails to elect new president
LONDON (MarketWatch) — The euro moved slightly lower in choppy action on Tuesday after Greece’s parliament failed to agree on a new president in its second ballot. Elsewhere, the dollar traded slightly lower, ahead of a data deluge that could stir speculation about the Federal Reserve’s first rate hike.
The euro EURUSD, -0.14% traded at $1.2228, down from $1.2232 late Monday. The shared currency had traded a bit higher earlier in the session, but headed south after Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras failed to get his candidate — Stavros Dimas — elected in a second round of parliamentary voting on Tuesday.
A third and final round of voting is scheduled for Dec. 29, and if no president is confirmed, snap elections will be called for late January. Market participants worry that far-left party Syriza could win that election, bringing back concerns about whether Greece would then continue its bailout program and austerity measures.
Elsewhere, the Russian ruble rose for a fifth straight day, as Russia’s central bank and politicians reportedly asked big exporters to sell foreign reserves to protect the currency. The ruble USDRUB, -1.01% improved to trade around 54.2640 to the dollar, compared with 55.4182 late on Monday.
Both President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s central bank have encouraged the country's large exporters to sell foreign reserves, according to media reports. Alexander Medvedev, deputy CEO of Russia’s top gas producer Gazprom, said on Monday his company would start to sell foreign-currency revenues on the domestic market, Reuters reported.
In the U.S., the dollar weakened, with the WSJ Dollar Index BUXX, +0.10% down 0.03% to 82.54. The ICE dollar index DXY, +0.06% slipped 0.06% to 89.73.
The small moves came ahead of a raft of U.S. data due later on Tuesday, including the third estimate of third-quarter GDP, durable-goods orders and a consumer-confidence reading. Read: U.S. stocks: Futures inch up as Dow eyes 18,000
The pound GBPUSD, -0.42% exchanged hands at $1.5559, down from $1.5592 on Monday, after a data revision indicated the U.K. economy is not growing as fast as thought
