Euro holds steady but renewed Greek woes weigh

The euro stabilised but remained under pressure on Friday after Greece said it could not achieve promised deficit cuts if its borrowing costs remain so high. The euro had fallen broadly the previous day on worries over Greece's debt problems after a media report said the country was not optimistic about aid from euro zone members and could call in the IMF if European leaders do not agree on a rescue plan next week.
But Greece said aid from the global lender was a last resort. The euro was steady around $1.3620 after falling as much as 1 percent to $1.3586 on trading platform EBS the previous day. The European single currency has pulled back from a five-week high of $1.3819 hit on EBS earlier this week.
Near term support for the euro is seen around $1.3500 as the currency stayed above that level last week, traders said. The European single currency also hovered around a 17-month low against the Swiss franc after Swiss National Bank board member Jean-Pierre Danthine said on Thursday that Swiss firms and consumers should prepare for rising borrowing costs as interest rates cannot stay ultra-low forever.
The euro was steady at 1.4405 francs after falling as far as 1.4355 francs on EBS on Thursday, its weakest level since October 2008. The euro, however, found some bids against sterling after Bank of England policymaker Andrew Sentance said there is a risk Britain may suffer a double-dip recession, although it was not the most likely scenario.
The euro rose 0.2 percent against sterling to 89.44 pence while sterling fell 0.2 percent to $1.5224. The dollar was seen supported against the yen by the regular commercial needs of Japanese firms on every fifth day of the month and before a three-day weekend in Japan, but the upper end of 90 yen was capped by heavy sell orders, traders said.
The dollar rose 0.1 percent to 90.45 yen and the euro was up 0.2 percent at 123.23 yen. Higher-yielding currencies such as the Australian dollar retained strength on firm regional stocks. Asian stocks rose on Friday with investor expectations of a steady economic recovery helping markets close in on a sixth straight week of gains.
The Aussie rose 0.2 percent to $0.9221, in sight of an eight-week high of $0.9253 hit this week. Against the yen, the Aussie advanced 0.3 percent to 83.39 yen. Against the Canadian dollar, the greenback was up 0.2 percent at C$1.0162 but stayed within a reach of a 20-month low of C$1.0071 touched on Wednesday.