Early trade in New York: euro hits seven-year low against pound

The euro hit a seven-year low against the British pound and fell versus the dollar for a second straight session on Wednesday ahead of the outcome of a euro zone finance ministers' meeting as the region and Greece edged closer to a showdown. Any failure to find common ground on Greece's debt burden will likely put more pressure on the euro.
Eurogroup Chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem said on Wednesday ahead of the meeting that he did not expect an outcome from Greek talks, which weighed on the euro further. "I think it's going to be really down to watching the headlines from the Eurogroup," said Vassili Serebriakov, currency strategist at BNP Paribas in New York. The euro fell 0.1 percent to $1.1309 and shed 0.2 percent against the British pound to 74.03 pence after hitting its lowest in seven years. The dollar hit a five-week high against the yen, bolstered by a rise in Treasury yields. It was last at 120.38 yen, up 0.8 percent. Trade was thin, with Japanese markets closed for a public holiday.