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FOREX-Euro sluggish after Greece approves bailout plan, dollar up on Yellen

Published 16/07/2015, 10:38 am
© Reuters.  FOREX-Euro sluggish after Greece approves bailout plan, dollar up on Yellen

* Dollar buoyed as Yellen stays on message about future Fed hike

* Canadian dollar skids to six-year low after BOC rate cut

By Lisa Twaronite

TOKYO, July 16 (Reuters) - The euro edged lower on Thursday after Greece's parliament approved the austerity plan demanded by its lenders, while the U.S. dollar firmed as the Federal Reserve chief did not waver from her views that a rate hike was on the cards this year.

The single currency initially inched a few ticks higher on the Greek news, before dropping about 0.1 percent on the day to $1.10945 EUR= . It was nearly flat against the yen at 135.54 yen EURJPY=R .

The outcome in Athens clears the way for talks on a third bailout from European partners, but clouds the future of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' government following a split in his party ranks.

Tsipras repeated his sanguine view of the austerity measures imposed by lenders. ID:nA8N0ZT00R

"I acknowledge the fiscal measures are harsh, that they won't benefit the Greek economy, but I'm forced to accept them," he said before the vote on the package early on Thursday.

The dollar rose against the yen, gaining about 0.1 percent on the day to 123.88 yen JPY= , bolstered by testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen that gave market participants no reason to pare bets on a U.S. interest rate hike as soon as September.

Yellen's comments largely reiterated her statement last month that the Fed would stay on track to raise interest rates later this year if the U.S. economy expands as expected, and cited labour market improvement. ID:nL2N0ZV1C5

"In the session ahead, we have another day of testimony from Yellen - this time in front of the Senate - but she is unlikely to change her tune or wade into deeper waters after her first day," John Kicklighter, chief currency strategist at broker FXCM.

The dollar was steady on the day against its Canadian counterpart, after soaring to a six-year high in the previous session after the Bank of Canada cut its interest rate for a second time this year.

It slashed its key rate by 25 basis points to 0.5 percent, saying an unexpected economic contraction added excess capacity and curbed inflation. ID:nL2N0ZV17Y

The Canadian dollar CAD=D4 was last at C$1.2928 to the greenback, which rose as high as C$1.2958 on Wednesday.

(Editing by Shri Navaratnam)

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