The U.S. dollar continued to be stronger against the other major currencies in the Asian session on Tuesday amid continued worries over Greece that it may default on debts.
Greece is in an imminent danger of defaulting if bailout aid fund from international creditors are not made available, even as discussions over an extension remained inconclusive.
It is likely Greek banks may soon run out of collateral to access European Central Bank refinancing unless Athens reaches a deal over the release of another 7.2 billion euros in bailout funds from the European Union. A meeting of euro-area finance ministers will be held in Latvia on April 24.
Meanwhile, Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis is reported to have warned of contagion if Greece leaves the eurozone. However, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi brushed aside such speculations, stating that the single eurozone currency is irrevocable.
The comments of Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley on the U.S. economy and monetary policy also supported the currency.
Speaking at the Bloomberg Americas Monetary Policy Summit, Dudely shed an optimistic outlook on U.S. economy that the nation’s economic data is likely to support a decision to raise interest rate later this year.
Monday, the U.S. dollar was higher against its major rivals. The U.S. dollar rose 0.58 percent against the euro, 0.36 percent against the pound, 0.15 percent against the Swiss franc and 0.15 percent against the Yen.
In the Asian trading today, the U.S. dollar rose to a 6-day high of 119.49 against the yen, a 5-day high of 1.4885 against the pound and a 4-day high of 1.2261 against the Canadian dollar, from yesterday’s closing quotes of 119.12, 1.4903 and 1.2218, respectively. If the greenback extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 120.95 against the yen, 1.44 against the pound and 1.26 against the loonie.
Against the Australia and the New Zealand dollars, the greenback appreciated to 5-day highs of 0.7683 and 0.7633 from yesterday’s closing quotes of 0.7723 and 0.7654, respectively. The greenback may now test resistance near 0.74 against the aussie and 0.73 against the kiwi.
The greenback edged up to 1.0724 against the euro and 0.9573 against the Swiss franc, from yesterday’s closing quotes of 1.0736 and 0.9558, respectively. On the upside, 1.04 against the euro and 0.99 against the franc are seen as the next resistance levels for the greenback.
Looking ahead, the final results of Japan leading and coincident indexes for February is due to be released at 1:00 am ET.
In the European session, German ZEW economic sentiment index for April is slated for release.
In the New York session, Canada wholesale sales data for February is set to be published.
At 12:30 pm ET, European Central Bank Supervisory Board Chair Daniele Nouy is expected to speak at the International Center for Monetary and Banking Studies in Geneva.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com