Despite several attempts to recapture the 92 cent level in Asia yesterday the Aussie dollar retreated and opens this morning back below 91 cents on technical support at 0.9080.
BRUSSELS, March 24 (Reuters) - European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso made a new call on Wednesday for countries using the euro to create a safety net to help Greece if it needs financial assistance.
The Aussie dollar continued to pull back in early offshore trade weighed down by persistent selling in EUR/USD to eventually find a bottom around 0.9135 against the Greenback.
The dollar edged higher versus the Japanese yen on Tuesday after a report showed sales of previously owned U.S. homes fell less than expected in February.
* Merkel says no need for EU summit to discuss Greek aid
* Greek PM says EU needs mechanism to deter speculators
* Juncker sees possible twin-track euro zone/IMF support
* Trichet says any help would have to be conditional loan
* Euro falls, Greek risk premium leaps amid uncertainty
Fueled by growing concern over the Greek debt crisis, the euro is positioned for a severe clobbering at the hands of its safe haven counterparts. The US dollar, Japanese yen and Swiss franc should enjoy disproportionately favorable gains against the euro in the coming weeks of trading or until a meaningful resolution to the debt crisis can be found.
With a severe lack of confidence that a Greek rescue package would eventuate commodities, in particular gold, were sold off aggressively during Friday's offshore session.
The euro fell on Friday over doubts Greece would win euro-zone aid, capping its worst week since January, and concerns about the UK economy hit sterling. A report on Thursday that Greece saw limited prospects for euro-zone assistance raised concerns about the country's ability to service its debt. On Friday, the euro fell as far as $1.3502, its lowest level in more than two weeks. It was down 1.7 percent this week, its worst showing since late January.
The Australian Dollar opens marginally lower today at 0.9204 and spent most of yesterday's local session consolidating around the US92 cent mark.
The Australian Dollar opens higher today at 0.9220. In the absence of any local economic data yesterday, traders were content to play the ranges and the currency was quickly sold when it attempted to dip its toe in the water at US92 cents.
The Australian Dollar opens higher against the greenback today at 0.9180.
The Australian Dollar opens lower today against the greenback at 0.9135.
The Australian Dollar opens higher at 0.9180 as the greenback and Yen weakened on Friday night and markets move back into currencies linked to economic growth.
EUR/USD has been range-bound since the beginning of the U.S. session on Wednesday as it failed to break out of the range when the unemployment claims report was released at 8:30 am Thursday morning.
Yesterday's announcement of a steep decline in housing finance caught the market by surprise somewhat triggering a drop in the Aussie dollar to an intraday low of 0.9130.
* Yen slips amid Japan monetary easing expectations
* Pound weakened by surprise drop in industrial output
* Euro up vs dollar; Greece comments add to positive view (Recasts, updates prices, adds comment, byline)
Positive Australian economic data keeps on rolling in with yesterdays better than expected NAB Business Confidence and the ANZ Job advertisements surveys adding some support to the Aussie dollar.
The yen gained across the board on Tuesday as most world equity markets fell, illustrating a rise in risk aversion as investors moved into the low-yielding Japanese currency. Appetite for risk had been boosted by Friday's better-than- expected U.S. employment report, pushing the yen down to two-week lows versus the euro and the dollar.
The Aussie dollar began the week on a positive note rising in Asia amidst optimism of a global economic recovery and speculation Greece will be supported financially by other European nations.
The Australian Dollar has managed to hang onto its recent gains and opens the new week at 0.9060.
The dollar soared against the yen on Friday after a government report showed U.S. employers cut fewer jobs than expected last month, boosting hopes a U.S. economic recovery was on track. The renewed optimism also encouraged investors to buy stocks and high-yield currencies such as the Australian and New Zealand dollars, while the euro rose as concern about Greece's debt crisis ebbed after Thursday's successful debt auction.
New York gold futures rose on
Friday, boosted by an oil rally and as the dollar cut initial
gains following February's U.S. non-farm payrolls report.* For the latest detailed report.
A much larger than forecast narrowing in Australia's trade deficit added some support to the Aussie dollar in local trade yesterday however resistance above 0.9050 saw it slide lower in afternoon exchange.
The Australian Dollar opens higher today at 0.9045. The unit was bolstered during yesterday's domestic session hitting an intraday high of 0.9060 after fourth-quarter national accounts revealed a 0.9 per cent increase in economic growth for an annualised pace of 2.7 per cent.
The euro rose against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday after the Greek government endorsed a 4.8 billion euro austerity package, boosting hopes the heavily indebted country would get help from the European Union. The euro gained roughly half a U.S. cent after a government source told Reuters the Greek cabinet decided on the plan, which included a rise in value added tax to 21 percent and a cut in public sector salary bonuses by 30 percent.
The euro rose against the dollar and Greek borrowing costs fell to their lowest level since mid-February as Greece's cabinet approved new steps to fight a budget deficit, seen as key to secure EU fiscal support. European shares, however, were flat as traders said most of the news had been priced in and ahead of U.S. jobs data, though world stocks gained, on track to gain for the fourth consecutive day and near their five-week high.
The strength of the Australian economy was evident once again yesterday following the release of a much stronger than forecast 1.2% rise in Retail Sales during January adding some support to the AUD/USD in early Asian trade.
The euro rebounded from a 9-1/2-month low against the dollar on Tuesday as investors awaited new plans to address Greece's debt crisis and held out hope for some form of help from the European Union. Earlier, the euro dropped as low as $1.3435, its lowest since May 2009, after Greece's biggest public union called for a 24-hour strike on March 16 to protest expected austerity measures from Athens. For more please [ID:nATH005239].
The Bank of Japan remains under steady government pressure to loosen monetary policy further, even as the central bank's ammunition to beat deflation dries up. While the government has not openly said what exactly it wants the BOJ to do, it is relying on it to act in the event of a sharp rise in the yen or in bond yields that could threaten a fragile economic recovery.
The Aussie dollar rallied in early Asia yesterday before running into some resistance around the 90 cent handle to settle at 0.8975 heading into offshore trade.
