Euro Falls Versus Yen After S&P Says Greece May Be In ‘Selective Default’

The euro weakened versus the yen after Standard & Poor’s said a debt-rollover plan for Greece may prompt a “selective default” rating for the country.

The 17-nation currency had risen to the highest level since June 8 against its Japanese counterpart on speculation the European Central Bank will increase rates this week. The Swiss franc slipped after retail sales slumped. The Thai baht rose after an election win by allies of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra spurred optimism foreign investors will return.

“Sentiment was undermined with those S&P comments,” said Jeremy Stretch, head of currency strategy at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in London. “Markets are reluctant to aggressively sell the euro, though. We need to see what the other rating agencies are going to suggest.”

The shared currency fell 0.1 percent to 117.27 yen as of 9:52 a.m. in Toronto. The euro was little changed at $1.4515, after advancing to $1.4578, the strongest since June 9. The dollar traded at 80.79 yen, from 80.83 on Friday in New York.

Europe is inching toward a goal of getting banks to replace 30 billion euros ($44 billion) of maturing Greek bonds with new securities. French banks, with the biggest exposure to Greece, worked out a rollover formula that is serving as an example.