Forex - Euro supported by Greece deal optimism

Forexpros - The euro was broadly higher against its major counterparts on Wednesday, as cautious hopes that Greece is close to reaching a consensus on the terms of a second bailout deal supported the single currency.

During European late morning trade, the euro edged up to an eight-week against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD adding 0.14% to hit 1.3278.

Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos was to hold talks with the leaders of Greece's three political parties at 1300GMT to discuss the terms of new austerity measures being demanded in return for a second bailout worth EUR130 billion.

The deeply unpopular measures include billions of euros in government spending reductions, as well as cuts to pensions and wages.

Greece needs to finalize a debt restructuring deal by early March as part of an agreement to receive a second bailout package.

The euro was largely unchanged after official data showed that German exports fell at their fastest rate in nearly three years in December, narrowing the trade surplus to EUR13.9 billion from a revised EUR14.9 billion the previous month.

The data sparked concerns that the euro zone’s largest economy may have contracted more than originally estimated in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Elsewhere, the Bank of France said earlier that its economy will not grow at all in the first quarter of this year.

The euro edged higher against the pound, with EUR/GBP gaining 0.30% to hit 0.8366.

In the U.K., investors were looking ahead to the Bank of England’s policy decision on Thursday, amid expectations that policymakers will implement a further GBP50 billion of quantitative easing in order to shore up growth in the faltering U.K. economy.

The single currency was also higher against the yen and the Swiss franc, with EUR/JPY climbing 0.48% to hit 102.27 and EUR/CHF gaining 0.17% to hit 1.2109.

Elsewhere, the euro remained within striking distance of recent record lows against the Australian and New Zealand dollars, with EUR/AUD dipping 0.05% to hit 1.2262 and EUR/NZD slipping 0.16% to hit 1.5836.

The euro pushed higher against the Canadian dollar, with EUR/CAD rising 0.18% to hit 1.3210.

On Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke indicated that the central bank would keep borrowing costs close to zero for another two years, despite data last week showing the U.S. unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to a three-year low.

In testimony to the Senate Budget Committee in Washington, Bernanke said the decline in the jobless rate understated weakness in the labor market.