FOREX-Euro falls as Greek bailout deal faces hurdles

* Euro pulls well away from 2-mth high vs dollar
* Greece far-right leader says cannot back bailout deal
* Euro zone ministers seek more commitments from Greece
* Aussie falls 1.25 pct, dovish RBA statement weighs

By Jessica Mortimer
LONDON, Feb 10 (Reuters) - The euro fell on Friday
after the leader of the far-right party in Greece's coalition
said he could not back a bailout agreement, reigniting worries
about the risk of a chaotic default.
The comments caused the single currency to extend earlier
falls after euro zone finance ministers sought further measures
from Greece before signing off on a 130 billion euro bailout
package.
The euro lost 0.6 percent on the day to $1.3199,
pulling well below a two-month high of $1.3322 hit on Thursday
when it failed to pierce its 100-day moving average at 1.3330.
"Some of our clients remain concerned that the Greek
situation could worsen from here. With some event risk still
very much out there, people may not be willing to keep sizeable
risky positions ahead of this weekend's Greek parliamentary
vote," said Valentin Marinov, currency strategist at CitiFX.
Profit taking was also cited as a reason for the euro's
softer tone. The single currency has seen strong gains since
hitting a 17-month low of $1.2624 in January as the market bet
Greece would hammer out its second bailout deal with
international lenders.
"The topside in euro/dollar should be limited to
$1.33/$1.35," said Anders Soderberg, currency analyst at SEB in
Stockholm, adding the break below the $1.3215/30 area could
trigger a move towards $1.3025/50.
Traders also reported a large option expiry at $1.3300.
Political parties in Athens struck a long-awaited deal on
harsh austerity steps necessary for a second rescue, and a debt
swap deal with Greece's private bondholders was practically
finalised.
But Eurogroup chairman Jean-Claude Juncker said a further
325 million euros of spending cuts needed to be found and, with
Greek elections looming, political assurances were needed that
the plan would be implemented.
"We remain bearish and target a move towards $1.20 for the
euro in the medium term," said Geoff Kendrick, currency
strategist at Nomura, who express that view by holding euro put
options.

AUSSIE SLIDES
The risk-sensitive Australian dollar was a clear
underperformer, pressured as the euro zone worries pushed
equities lower as well as a dovish RBA quarterly statement and
data showing a slump in Chinese imports.

The Aussie fell 1.25 percent to $1.0656, well below
a six-month high of $1.0845 hit earlier this week.
"We see risk of potentially strong pullbacks on a
three-month view given risk that the euro zone crisis could
undermine risk appetite, but would view these as AUD/USD buying
opportunities," said Rabobank in a note.
Against the yen, the euro was down around 0.5 percent on the
day at 102.66 yen, off a two-month high hit on
Thursday at 103.28 yen. Technical analysts said resistance was
at 104.72, the top of the Ichimoku cloud, a closely watched
Japanese technical indicator.
Meanwhile, the dollar rose to its highest against the yen
in two weeks at 77.81 yen, according to EBS data.
Japan Finance Minister Jun Azumi said the exchange rate
remained out of sync with economic reality and repeated he was
ready to counter excessive speculation.