* Euro recovers vs dollar; traders eye Ecofin meeting
* Greek uncertainty caps gains as EU ministers press Greece
* Stocks, commodities rise, risk demand rises slightly
(Adds comment, updates prices)
By Naomi Tajitsu
LONDON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - The euro edged up against the
dollar on Tuesday, recovering some of its recent losses as
traders reckoned the single currency's battering in past weeks
over Greek public finance issues may have gone too far.
Gains were limited, however, due to uncertainty over whether
Greece's debt problems will be resolved quickly, as investors
awaited developments at a meeting of European Union finance
ministers on Greece on Tuesday. []
Sentiment towards the single currency remained broadly
negative, and market participants said the euro would be
vulnerable to further falls.
"There's been a relief bounce, as you could argue that the
euro was a bit oversold," said Kenneth Broux, market economist
at Lloyds TSB in London.
He said the euro's rise against the dollar was a repeat of
movements last week, when it gained in the run-up to a pledge by
European leaders to support Greece, although a lack of concrete
details on the assistance ultimately triggered more selling.
"The market seems to be hoping for some clarity from the
officials (later today), but it's running the risk of
disappointment again," he said, adding he favoured selling the
euro into any rally.
Euro zone states urged Greece on Monday to take further
steps to control its budget deficit by mid-March if needed, but
did not elaborate on last week's EU pledge. []
At 1204 GMT, the euro <EUR=> was up 0.4 percent on the day
against the dollar at $1.3655, but hovered in range of Friday's
nine-month low of $1.3532.
Some in the market said an early rise in global stock
markets and commodity prices suggested a slight recovery in risk
demand and was helping to support the euro.
"Markets are in a state of fatigue at the moment. There is a
lack of fresh news and what news there is has already been
priced in," said UBS currency strategist Geoffrey Yu.
MORE LOSSES AHEAD?
Analysts said the single currency remained highly sensitive
to any more negative news on Greece.
The euro has shed nearly 10 percent against the dollar since
late 2009 on worries over the fiscal health of Greece and other
euro zone countries, such as Portugal.
This increased the number of net euro short positions to a
record high last week, according to the latest data from the
Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
The dollar index <.DXY> <=USD> was down 0.3 percent at
80.099, below a seven-month high of 80.748 hit late last week.
Markets showed limited reaction to a ZEW survey showing
German economic sentiment fell for the fifth straight month in
February, although not by as much as expected. []
Traders said the euro was also helped higher against the
U.S. dollar in tandem with the Australian dollar and other
perceived riskier currencies after Australia's central bank
signalled further gradual interest rate rises. []
But the Australian currency outshone the euro, hitting a
decade high of A$1.5241 <EURAUD=R>, while it also hit its
strongest vs the dollar in more than two weeks at $0.8877.
Against the yen, the euro <EURJPY=R> gained 0.4 percent to
122.83 yen, while the dollar <JPY=> was steady at 89.93 yen.
(Additional reporting by Jessica Mortimer, editing by Nigel
Stephenson)
