The euro rose on Tuesday as debt yields of some peripheral eurozone countries eased ahead of an EU summit later this week on expectations a solution to Greece's debt problem may be reached. The dollar briefly recovered against the yen after a government report showed US housing starts rose more than expected in June to touch a six-month high and permits for future construction unexpectedly increased.
The euro rose as high as $1.42172 on electronic trading platform EBS before retreating to $1.41625, still up 0.3 percent on the day. The euro also traded higher against other currencies, rising to a session high of 1.16556 versus the safe-haven Swiss franc.
Against the yen it slipped 0.2 percent to 78.91, while sterling rose 0.4 percent against the dollar to $1.6123 and the Australian dollar gained 0.9 percent to $1.0697.