NEW YORK (AP) — The euro rose against the dollar Monday, the start of an important week in the European debt crisis.

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is visiting Germany and France and is expected to ask for an extension for Greece to meet fiscal targets as it carries out painful reforms. German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet with French President Francois Hollande.

On Monday, Germany's central bank again questioned the idea of buying bonds to lower borrowing costs for troubled European nations. The comments weakened the euro in early trading, but it recovered.

The euro rose to $1.2348 in late trading Monday from $1.2322 late Friday. The British pound rose to $1.5709 from $1.5691.

The dollar fell to 79.43 Japanese yen from 79.55 yen, to 0.9728 Swiss franc from 0.9745, and to 98.84 Canadian cents from 98.88.