Australian Dollar Little Changed; Looks to Grece

 
   By James Glynn 
 

        SYDNEY--The Australian dollar was drifting lower in Asia on Friday as European markets opened, with all bets off ahead of critical weekend negotiations over Greece's debt.
        At 0708 GMT, the Australian dollar was trading at US$0.7710, compared with US$0.7734 late Thursday.
        All eyes will be on Greece in terms of whether a debt deal is agreed and passed through the Greek parliament in time to make a payment to the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday, said Shane Oliver, head of economics at AMP Capital.
        "A miss is likely to be tolerated or alternatives will likely be found to fund it but only if a deal is on track," he added.
        Next week, key Australian economic data will return as the central focus with retail sales for May due on Friday.
        A speech by Reserve Bank of Australia Gov. Glenn Stevens in London at the start of the week will also be closely watched.
        Mr. Stevens recently indicated he was open to further interest rate cuts, but warned the consequences of doing so in the housing market are mounting.
        Interest rates have been cut to record lows in Australia to address a slowdown in growth and a rise in unemployment. At the same time, house prices are surging, fanning concerns of a bust that would affect the broader economy.
        -Write to James Glynn at james.glynn@wsj.com
        (END) Dow Jones Newswires

        June 26, 2015 03:57 ET (07:57 GMT)

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