Topic: Foreign Exchange

Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi said on Friday that he had decided to intervene to weaken the yen last year when it hit 75.63 yen against the dollar, making a rare reference to a currency level that prompted authorities to take action.

The euro fell on Friday after the leader of the far-right party in Greece’s coalition declined to back a bailout agreement, again raising concerns about the risk of a chaotic default and pushing market sentiment from recent optimism to pessimism.

Greek political leaders said they had clinched a deal on economic reforms and spending cuts needed to secure a second bailout, but euro zone finance ministers demanded more measures and a parliamentary seal of approval before providing the aid.

Greek leaders clinched a long-stalled deal on reforms and austerity measures needed to secure a bailout and avoid a messy default just hours before the country's financial backers were to meet in Brussels on Thursday.

The euro rose to a fresh two-month high against the dollar on Thursday as Greek leaders clinched a deal on reforms needed to avoid a disorderly default and Europe's central bank chief flagged tentative improvement in the euro zone economy.

The euro rose to a two-month high versus the dollar on Wednesday on optimism Greek leaders are nearing a deal to secure a second bailout and avoid a messy default, though analysts were skeptical of fresh gains with the deal becoming priced in.

Japan will not rule out taking any measures to battle speculative moves in currency markets, Finance Minister Jun Azumi said on Tuesday, after data showed Tokyo spent roughly 1 trillion yen ($13 billion) in November last year on intervention it had not previously announced.

The euro rallied across the board on Tuesday, hitting an eight-week high against the dollar on optimism that Greece is about to agree on a bailout deal that will enable it to avoid a messy default.

There have been almost as many new acronyms slipping into business news as there have been euro zone summits in recent months.

Though the Greek coalition parties have yet to approve a new bailout to avoid a March default, the euro lifted slightly as the Greek government agreed to demands by rescue creditors to cut 15,000 jobs in the public sector.

The independence of the Swiss National Bank risks being compromised due to political pressure following the departure of Philipp Hildebrand as chairman, the central bank’s acting chairman has warned, the Financial Times reports.

The dollar extended gains against the yen and swung wildly against the euro in volatile trade on Friday after a report showed a larger-than-expected rise of 243,000 jobs in U.S. nonfarm payrolls in January.

Friday's January U.S. jobs report, if strong, is expected to lead to dollar selling as this would indicate a stronger economy and therefore siphon cash away toward commodities and stocks.

Encouraging manufacturing data and hopes of a deal on Greek debt lifted the euro on Wednesday and the yen hit a three-month high versus the dollar, fuelling speculation Japan's authorities may intervene to curb its strength.

The euro surrendered all gains and traded lower against the dollar on Tuesday as expectations evaporated that a Greek debt restructuring deal could be close, while a resurgent yen raised concern Japanese authorities could intervene to weaken it.