By Stephen L. Bernard
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--After a report that Greece was considering leaving the 17-nation currency bloc Friday, the euro unraveled against other major currencies.
The euro quickly hit session lows against the dollar, yen and Swiss franc.
Greece has raised the possibility of leaving the currency zone in recent talks with member states and the European Commission, according to a report posted on the web site of the German magazine Spiegel, which did not say where it obtained the information.
A senior Greek official and a German official have denied the report.
"Suggestions that Greece is threatening to leave the euro zone ... nothing more than a bargaining tactic," said Douglas Borthwick of Faros Trading.
The Spiegel report provided a third straight blow to the euro, which was battered Thursday after European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet disappointed investors by not hinting at an interest-rate hike next month. The common currency also was hit hard in the sharp selloff of risk-related assets Thursday, which saw commodity prices tumble and the dollar rally.
Greece was the first country to seek a bailout from other euro-zone members last year amid ballooning deficits. Ireland and Portugal have since followed Greece in asking for financial assistance from the euro zone and International Monetary Fund.
There had been speculation in recent weeks that Greece would need to restructure its bailout to continue making payments.
The euro fell as low as $1.4373 after the report was initially released, before recovering modestly to $1.4412, according to EBS via CQG. It was the lowest the euro has traded against the dollar since April 20.
The euro dropped to a low of CHF1.2586, its lowest level against the Swiss franc since March 18.
It also fell to Y115.43 against Japan's yen, its lowest level against that currency since March 29.
The euro had received a slight boost earlier in New York trading as risk sentiment returned to the market following a better-than-expected report on U.S. employment. The government said employers added 244,000 jobs last month, much stronger than the 185,000 economists had forecast. Private employers, which account for about 70% of the work force, added 268,000 jobs in April, the biggest climb since February 2006.
The upbeat jobs data helped relieve some concerns about a slowdown in global economic growth.
-By Stephen L. Bernard, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-4528; stephen.bernard@dowjones.com
--Andrew J. Johnson contributed to this report.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 06, 2011 13:03 ET (17:03 GMT)2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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