Swiss franc drops towards 5-week lows on Greek debt deal

LONDON: The Swiss franc fell towards five-week lows on Monday, as some of the Greek-related safety flows waned after a conditional loan extension for Greece was reached late last week.

Despite a last-minute deal over Greece's bailout achieved late on Friday, uncertainty remained high, leaving the euro under pressure against the dollar, the pound and even the yen.

The losses in the safe-haven Swiss franc, though, were relatively big. The dollar was up 0.9 percent against the franc at 0.94765 francs while the euro was up 0.7 percent at 1.07595 francs, not far from a five-week high of 1.08115 struck late on Friday.

"The move in the Swiss franc is broadly in line with the overall pick up in risk appetite," said Peter Kinsella, currency strategist at Commerzbank.

"Clearly, they want to keep Greece in the euro zone and as a consequence some of the safe-haven plays are being unwound."

Euro zone ministers late on Friday agreed to extend Greece's financial rescue package by four months after weeks of difficult and often confusing negotiations that held markets captive.

The agreement removed the immediate threat of Greece's exit from the single currency bloc, but questions remained over whether the short-term extension will lead to a deal over how to keep Athens solvent.

The euro shed 0.3 percent to $1.1345 after rising to as high as $1.1430 on Friday in response to the Greek loan agreement. The euro slipped against the yen to 135.20 yen , with focus on the German IFO survey due at 0900 GMT.

Any bounce in the euro from a good reading could prove temporary, traders said, given the Greek-related uncertainties.

Greece has to submit to the Eurogroup on Monday a list of reforms it plans to implement during the remainder of the bailout period, which needs the approval from the troika comprised of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the IMF.

"It is a four-month extension but Greece still has to receive approval from the Eurogroup and the troika at the end of April. It is a deal with many conditions attached, so it hasn't been all bids for the euro," said Shinichiro Kadota, chief Japan forex strategist at Barclays in Tokyo.

At the end of April, the troika will decide if Athens has followed through with the reforms and will determine if it gets its last aid tranche.

The dollar rose against the yen to 119.20 yen after bouncing from a low of 118.30 on Friday, helped by a rise in US debt yields.