1st LD Writethru: U.S. dollar falls against euro on Greek deal
Xinhua, February 21, 2015 Adjust font size:
The U.S. dollar declined against most major currencies including the euro on Friday, as Greece and the eurozone reached an agreement on extending the country's bailout by four months.
The euro went up on the news as the deal provided some breathing space for the Greece government challenged by the approaching debt deadline next month and also reduced the risk of Grexit.
On the U.S. economic front, the seasonally adjusted Markit Flash U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose from 53.9 in January to 54.3 in February, beating market consensus of 53.8, said financial data firm Markit Friday. The latest figure was well above the 50 level that separates expansion from contraction, indicating a sustained improvement in U.S. manufacturing business conditions.
In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.1411 dollars from 1.1365 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound declined to 1.5406 dollars from 1.5414 dollars. The Australian dollar went up to 0.7847 dollar from 0.7788 dollar.
The U.S. dollar bought 119.07 Japanese yen, higher than 118.99 yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar went down to 0.9421 Swiss francs from 0.9497 Swiss francs, and it increased to 1.2532 Canadian dollars from 1.2495 Canadian dollars. Endite