Tokyo - The euro held firm on Tuesday, aided by speculation that debt-ridden Greece will reach a bailout deal and avoid defaulting.
The common European currency was at $1.1335 and 139.95 yen in Tokyo against $1.1340 and 139.92 yen in New York late on Monday.
The dollar rose to 123.51 yen from 123.38 yen in US trade.
Optimism on Greece also sparked a rally in equities markets, with Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei index up 1.46 percent in mid-morning trade reaching its highest intraday level in more than 15 years.
Greece offered economic reforms in exchange for the last payment of 7.2 billion euros from the current aid programme.
Without that money, Greece may not be able to make a 1.5-billion-euro repayment to the IMF due on June 30, risking a default and possible chaotic exit from the eurozone.
After an emergency summit in Brussels, eurozone leaders ordered their finance ministers to hold fresh talks on Wednesday to thrash out the details ahead of a full meeting of all 28 European Union leaders on Thursday.
“Hopes are likely to heighten for a positive outcome over the Greek issue before a European Union summit later this week after Greece signalled readiness to compromise,” Yujiro Goto, currency strategist at Nomura Holdings, told Bloomberg News.
Emma Lawson, senior currency strategist at National Australia Bank, said in a note: “The next focal point will be Thursday, but that won't stop the stream of headlines, and the subsequent market twists and turns as it tries to make sense of it all.”
AFP