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FOREX-Euro unnerved as Greek deal remains elusive

Published 13/07/2015, 09:08 am
© Reuters.  FOREX-Euro unnerved as Greek deal remains elusive

* Euro falls broadly first thing in Asia

* Euro zone says Greece must pass reform laws before bailout talks

* Yen firmer as safety demand rises

By Ian Chua and Naomi Tajitsu

SYDNEY, July 13 (Reuters) - The euro fell broadly early on Monday after a weekend emergency summit billed as the 'final meeting on Greece' ended with no deal but just more deadlines, dealing a blow to investors who had hoped for some kind of resolution to Athens' debt crisis.

The single currency initially slid as far as $1.10900 EUR= , from around $1.11625 late on Friday. It gave up more than 1 percent to a low of 135.45 yen EURJPY=R and sank to 1.0425 Swiss francs EURCHF=R from 1.0480 francs late on Friday.

Yet the losses were soon pared and the euro last stood at $1.11260 and 136.350 yen. Aiding the euro were rumours the European Central Bank had agreed to delay a Greek repayment of 3.5 billion euros that had been due on July 20.

The inconclusive talks on Sunday, which Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi last week said was to be the last on Greece, fuelled broad demand for the safe-haven yen.

The dollar eased 0.2 percent to 122.550 JPY= , while the Australian dollar shed 0.4 percent to 90.91 yen AUDJPY=R

Greece will now be required to push legislation through parliament this week to convince its euro zone creditors to release funds to avert a state bankruptcy and start negotiations on a third bailout programme estimated at up to 86 billion euros ($95.5 billion). ID:nL5N0ZS09X

Analysts expected the euro to bob around $1.10-$1.12 as investors waited to see whether Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras would be able to pass the proposed austerity package amid opposition from his leftist coalition.

"I don't think we are going to get a move of more than 2 percent (in euro/dollar)," said Adam Myers, senior FX strategist at Credit Agricole in London. "However, if there are signs that Greece is going to go out (of the euro zone), then we could have a bigger move."

In the meantime, a Eurogroup meeting later in the day could discuss ways to provide emergency finance to keep Athens afloat, a European official said.

Uncertainty about Greece's future in the euro zone will continue to dominate market sentiment for now, traders said, pushing aside the other big elephant in the room - an eventual U.S. interest rate hike.

Last Friday, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said she expected the Fed to raise interest rates at some point this year. ID:nL1N0ZQ1D4

Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren, one of the Fed's most dovish officials, said September may be the right time to hike rates if the U.S. economy continued to improve. ID:nL1N0ZQ2EW

Investors will also be keeping a wary eye on Chinese stocks, which bounced sharply for a second day on Friday in a sign that Beijing may finally have stabilised the market after rolling out a raft of supportive measures. ID:nL3N0ZQ2LM

China reports trade data for June later on Monday and economic growth for the second quarter on Wednesday. ECONCN

(Editing by Shri Navaratnam)

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