Euro up as Greece claims it is close to a debt deal

Published: 13 Jun at 5 AM Tags: Euro, Dollar,

The euro ended the week slightly higher against the US dollar as Greece signaled that it may be close to making a deal with its debtors.

The cash-strapped country has been looking at ways of staving off a possible default. According to a government official Athens is ready to submit counterproposals and is the nearest it has been to resolving the situation with creditors.

Earlier in trading the single currency came under some pressure because of comments made by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She said that a strong euro made it harder for economic reform benefits to be felt in countries like Portugal and Spain.

The single currency was last trading up a tad at $1.1259. The dollar has not moved much against the yen and is worth 123.44 yen. Although reports on consumer sentiment and inflation in the US have been positive, the greenback appears not to have reacted.

However the data has helped to make it more likely that the Federal Reserve will hike up interest rates before the year is out. Investors are now looking to a Fed policy meeting next week for a better indication of when that rate rise will take place. A hawkish message from the central bank will help support the dollar.