Forex - Dollar mixed amid Greek debt uncertainty

07/02/2012 18:27 AST

The U.S. dollar was mixed against its major counterparts on Tuesday, as markets eyed Greek debt talks later in the day after Athens failed to strike a deal with private creditors on Monday.

During European morning trade, the dollar was steady against the euro, with EUR/USD edging up 0.02% to hit 1.3133.

Markets were jittery as Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos was to meet with coalition leaders later in the day to discuss the implementation of additional fiscal measures needed to secure a second bailout.

European Union officials have said a final agreement on Greece’s EUR130 billion bailout must be approved by February 15, in order to avert a default when a EUR14.5 billion bond repayment comes due on March 20.

The greenback was higher against the pound, with GBP/USD shedding 0.07% to hit 1.5812.

A report by the British Retail Consortium showed earlier that U.K. retail sales fell 0.3% on the year in January, after a 2.2% jump the previous month, as shoppers cut back on spending after heavy discounts boosted sales in the run up to Christmas.

The greenback was up against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY adding 0.24% to hit 76.74 and USD/CHF inching 0.05% higher to hit 0.9192.

Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi repeated earlier that Japan will not rule out any steps to battle speculative moves in the yen.

Meanwhile, the Swiss National Bank said that its foreign currency reserves fell to CHF227.2 billion in January from CHF254.3 billion the previous month.

In addition, the greenback was steady against its Canadian counterpart but lower against its Australian and New Zealand cousins, with USD/CAD edging down 0.02% to hit 0.9958, AUD/USD climbing 0.75% to hit 1.0793 and NZD/USD rising 0.27% to hit 0.8361.

Earlier Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of Australia kept interest rates unchanged at 4.25%, confounding expectations for a 0.25% cut, but the bank left the door open to further monetary easing if domestic demand weakened further.

The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, dipped 0.03% to hit 79.17.

Later in the day, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was due to testify on the economic outlook and federal budget situation before the Senate Budget Committee in Washington.

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