Euro higher on hopes for Greek coalition deal The euro pared some of its losses for the week against the dollar amid hopes that Greece was moving closer to a coalition government. The single currency rose 0.2 per cent to reach $1.2956 and gained 0.3 per cent against the pound to £0.8040 after reaching a fresh low for the year earlier in the session. The Australian dollar fell 0.2 per cent to $1.0035 as figures showed slowing economic growth in April in China, a close trading partner of Australia. Sterling erased its earlier gains as an index from Nationwide showed consumer confidence in the UK had fallen in April from the previous month. The pound had earlier hit another high against the euro this year, moving above €1.25 against the single currency for the first time since November 2008, after the Bank of England on Thursday ruled out a fresh bout of monetary easing. Sterling also benefited from haven demand this week following the political uncertainty in Europe. Analysts said that this relative attractiveness of sterling was likely to persist. "The leading indicators are pointing towards a modest recovery in the UK, in contrast with signals coming from the eurozone," said analysts at Morgan Stanley. As such, we believe the UK will continue to receive safe haven inflows, further supporting the pound, at least in the near term. The yen continued to weaken against the dollar for the second trading day in a row after hitting its strongest level against the US currency since the end of February on Wednesday as the demand for haven currencies dominated markets. The dollar rose 0.1 per cent to Y79.96. The euro rose 0.2 per cent to Y103.50. "Currency markets continue to trade with a risk-off bias, but today's focus is more on negative global growth prospects rather than a distinct euro negative bias given eurozone political uncertainty," said analysts at BNP Paribas.