Euro at nearly one-week high vs dollar ahead of second Greek vote - key for Alexis Tsipras

On Wednesday the shared currency rose to one-week highs against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday supported by Greek optimism, as Greek lawmakers brace for a second vote on bailout reforms. 

EUR/USD hit 1.0960 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0932, shedding 0.03%.

Later Wednesday the Greek parliament is expected to vote on a second set of reforms needed to secure the country's bailout deal. If lawmakers approve the financial and judicial reforms, the country will be able to negotiate further on an €86 billion bailout from its creditors.

Analysts say that today's vote is a key test for Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, following his split with a number of left-wing associates in his Syriza party last week.

The 32 members who defied Tsipras in the original bailout vote last week will likely do the same. But, according to some government insiders, some of the six MPs who abstained last time might return to the fold.

The reform package on the table today doesn’t contain as much austerity as the program of raising taxes and spending cuts that was approved a week ago. However, as media sources say, it does include two far-reaching measures:

1) The first is the adoption of a new code of civil procedure, aiming at speeding up court processes and trimming costs. Greece’s current code of civil procedure has been little amended since it was introduced in 1967 and the country’s international creditors have been urging for change. Some civil and commercial disputes can take two or three years to come to court and litigants have few options for out-of-court settlements, says The Guardian. The new code, which reduces the number of special procedures and replaces paperwork with electronic alternatives, was originally meant to be adopted in May 2014.

2) The second is to put the bank recovery and resolution directive, one of the EU’s post-crisis banking rules, into Greek national law. The directive aims to ensure creditors and shareholders, rather than taxpayers, bear the losses of future bank failures. Greece is already legally obliged to adopt the plan.

Greece's next major deadline is August 20, when it must pay €3.2 billion owed to the ECB, followed by a payment of €1.5 billion to the IMF in September.