Dollar gains on euro as Greek talks begin

The U.S. dollar rose against the euro on Monday as Greek officials began a conference call with officials from the European Union, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank amid mounting fears of a Greek default. The dollar index DXY +0.95% , which measures the U.S. unit against a basket of six major currencies, rose to 77.486, up from 76.614 on Friday. It touched 77.481 intraday. The euro EURUSD -0.38% fell to $1.3635, down from $1.3798 in North American trade late Friday. “After rebounding to $1.3700 at the start of European trade, [the euro] lost momentum and hit fresh session lows at $1.3630 as traders fear that Greece is running out of time,” said Boris Schlossberg, director of currency research at GFT. Euro-zone finance ministers on Friday said a decision on the release of an 8 billion euro ($11 billion) round of aid under last year’s bailout plan will be delayed until early October. Read more on Greek debt. Greece has coupon payments due on two bonds on Tuesday, Schlossberg noted. “Investors are concerned that the additional policy steps needed may not be agreed on time. In turn, fears that Greece could run out of money in coming weeks continue to weigh on euro sentiment,” said strategists at Citigroup.

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