Euro wavers amid Greek debt

The euro hit a two-week high against the dollar New York - AFP The euro hit a two-week high against the dollar on Friday before falling back, as talks stuttered between Greece and creditors offering to write-down some of the country's debt. "The euro ended the day lower against the US dollar," said Kathy Lien of GFT, adding though that investors "are still holding out hope that a deal will be reached in time for next week's EU finance ministers meeting." On Friday, talks between the government and banks broke up without a resolution, but are expected to continue on Saturday. After months of meetings, a deal on banks writing down a huge chunk of the Greek debt they hold could be a major step toward stabilizing the eurozone. The euro hit a two-week high at $1.2986 on Friday before sliding to $1.2926. Earlier in the day traders had bought up the single European currency as markets continued to be positive after France and Spain held successful bond auctions. "Yesterday's positive outcomes from the bond auctions of France and Spain have given the beleaguered euro a welcome respite from its recent woes but significant headwinds still remain, not least ... Greece," said Michael Hewson, market analyst at trading group CMC Markets. Against the Swiss currency, the dollar strengthened to 0.9348 francs from 0.9326 late Thursday. The British pound rose to $1.5539 from $1.5480.