Summary Euro rebounded Thursday after the ECB said Greek debt would not be accepted as collateral.
NEW YORK (AFP) - The euro rebounded Thursday helped by assurances Greek banks will get liquidity funding, after the European Central Bank said Greek debt would not be accepted as collateral.
The euro rose 1.2 percent to $1.1475, wiping out roughly what it lost late Wednesday when the ECB closed a key avenue for Greek banks to access short-term funding.
Assurances that the banks could still tap the ECB s emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) program helped quell fears of an immediate banking crisis while Athens seeks to renegotiate its international bailout with creditors.
The ECB has given the green light to increase the funds available through the ELA to 60 billion euros ($68.5 billion), a banking source told AFP Thursday.
But analysts said the common European currency is not in the clear.
The ECB move "may be aimed at piling the pressure on Greece to request an extension of its current bailout beyond
February 28, but it has also raised the risk that Greece could be forced into a default," said Rabobank analyst Jane Foley.
Markets were on watch for the US January jobs report, due Friday, which if weak could soften expectations of an early interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve this year, easing upward pressure on the greenback.
Analysts expect the unemployment rate to hold at 5.6 percent on a modest slowdown in job growth, for a net 235,000 new jobs.
