TOKYO: The euro ticked up against the dollar Friday on news of a plan to end Ukraine’s 10-month war, hopes that Greece will hammer out a debt overhaul with its European creditors and weak US retail sales data.
In Tokyo the euro bought $1.1427, up from 1.1406 in New York, while the greenback also was at 118.59 yen from 118.97 yen, and sharply down from 120.27 yen in Tokyo earlier Thursday.
The single currency also fetched 135.46 yen compared with 135.70 yen.
Investors confidence got a boost Thursday on the announcement that Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany had reached a deal to end the conflict between Kiev and pro-Moscow rebels.
While all sides remain cautious, the deal lifts a shadow that has loomed over markets for almost a year and has battered the Russian and Ukrainian economies.
Investors are now monitoring movements in Brussels, where Greece’s new Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is trying to convince other eurozone leaders to renegotiate terms of the country’s austerity-laden bailout programme.
With talks due Friday, markets are hoping a deal can be reached before the end of the month, when Greece’s bailout is due to expire. Failure to agree an extension would see it default and likely crash out of the eurozone.
“Calmer news on Ukraine is being be regarded as supportive, as is hope of a deal for Greece,” Greg Gibbs, head of Asia-Pacific markets strategy at Royal Bank of Scotland Group in Singapore.
