* Euro up vs yen, dollar; high-yielding currencies up
* Sarkozy comments help euro; US jobs data lifts risk demand
* Aussie hits 6-week high vs US dollar, helped by M&A news
(Updates prices)
By Jessica Mortimer
LONDON, March 8 (Reuters) - The euro rose against the dollar
and the yen on Monday on easing concerns over Greek debt, while
above-forecast U.S. jobs data increased investor demand for
risk, boosting higher-yielding currencies.
The euro gained after French President Nicolas Sarkozy on
Sunday hinted plans could be in place to support Greece,
promising that euro zone countries would help the indebted
country if its financial problems worsened. []
International Monetary Fund managing director Dominique
Strauss-Kahn also told Reuters on Monday that Greece's financial
problems were unlikely to spread to other euro zone countries
with high levels of public debt. []
Sarkozy's comments helped the spread between Greek and German
government bond yields <GR10YT=RR> <EU10YT=RR> to narrow, while
the cost of insuring Greek debt against default fell. []
Sentiment stayed buoyant after Friday's data showing U.S.
non-farm payrolls fell by less than forecast, firming the view
that the United States may be close to creating jobs and denting
the safe-haven allure of the dollar and low-yielding yen.
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"Greece is taking a bit of a back seat now from a market
perspective, while risk appetite is coming back into the market.
This has given the euro a bit of renewed support," said Niels
From, analyst at Nordea in Copenhagen.
At 1250 GMT, the euro <EUR=> was up 0.3 percent at $1.3665,
with traders saying near-term resistance was around $1.3712, its
March 4 high.
"The euro could move higher if it breaks the $1.3720/1.3750
area, but for the moment I don't see it has the momentum," said
Antje Praefcke, currency strategist at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.
The dollar index <.DXY> was 0.2 percent lower at 80.262.
The latest positioning data showed currency speculators more
than halved their bets on the U.S. dollar rising in the week to
March 2. []
YEN DIPS, AUSSIE SHINES
Against the yen, the euro rose 0.4 percent to 123.47 yen
<EURJPY=R>, having hit a two-week high of 123.80 yen on trading
platform EBS earlier on Monday.
"While dollar/yen has derived support from the payrolls
data, the improvement in confidence over Greece is clearly
helping support euro/yen," said Derek Halpenny, European head of
global currency research at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.
He added that the U.S. jobs data has left market
participants "more convinced over the potential for sustainable
GDP growth in the U.S.".
The dollar trimmed gains after touching a two-week high of
90.69 yen <JPY=> to trade steady at 90.35 yen <JPY=>.
The Australian dollar <AUD=D4> was up 0.6 percent at
$0.9122, having risen to a six-week high of $0.9131.
The higher-yielding currency, boosted by improved risk
sentiment, gained a further lift from news Royal Dutch Shell
<RDSa.L> and PetroChina <0857.HK> are bidding more than $3
billion for Australia's Arrow Energy <AOE.AX>. []
Analysts said the break above $0.9100 helped the currency
extend gains, with the next target seen at $0.9150.
Against the yen <AUDJPY=R>, the Aussie was at 82.43 yen,
having hit a two-week high of 82.54 yen, while the New Zealand
dollar <NZD=D4> rose 0.7 percent versus the U.S. dollar to
$0.7009.
(Reporting by Jessica Mortimer; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)
