Eurogroup drafts accord paving way for Greek deal

The Eurogroup has agreed on a draft accord that could extend the Greek bailout deal, according to Greek and eurozone offiicals.

The eurozone officials have drafted a common text that will form the basis for an agreement to extend the Greek bailout package.

The deal remains informal and incomplete at this stage, but the news immediately had an impact on the markets.

The euro currency surged to a session high of $1.1394.

Talks between the 19 finance ministers from eurozone countries were delayed on Friday as the Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis engaged in last-minute meetings with his German counterpart Wolfgang Schauble.

The talks were thought to have been brokered by the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission.

The Grexit saga is far from over though. Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras has spoken to European Council chief Donald Tusk to say that he would request that EU leaders meet on Sunday, if today's talks end with a "negative outcome".

Analysts said any deal reached on Friday would likely be a holding deal, rather than a substantive agreement.