Euro takes a breather in Asia
Tuesday, 9 February 2010
TOKYO, Feb 8 (AFP): The euro hovered above an eight- month low in Asian trade Monday after eurozone finance chiefs reassured their Group of Seven counterparts over Greece's deepening debt troubles, dealers said.
The euro stood at 1.3626 dollars in Tokyo afternoon trade, after sliding to as low as 1.3586 in New York late on Friday.
The euro dropped to 121.65 yen from 122.01. The dollar edged up to 89.32 yen from 89.20.
The euro "was sold a bit too much last week," said Masatsugu Miyata, forex dealer at Hachijuni Bank.
Dealers said the European currency received a modest boost from remarks by eurozone finance officials at the G7 talks in Canada on Greece's efforts to rein in its public debt of more than 294 billion euros (412 billion dollars).
"The European members of the G7 have confirmed to the other partners of the G7 the substance and the significance of the (debt-reduction) plan put together by Greece, and that they are confident that it will be managed," French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said.
The single European currency has been hammered by worries that debt- ridden countries such as Greece, Spain and Portugal may be unable to restore stability to their public finances, having spent heavily to combat recession.
"In our view, European leaders would do whatever they can eventually to avoid that the sovereign (debt)-related stress spreads to a point where the euro could really be endangered." said Calyon economist Sebastien Barbe.
"And this would, at the end of the day, provide more support to the euro. However, in the short term, the market stress could remain fairly high."
Doubts about a recovery of the US job market increased after Washington said the world's largest economy shed 20,000 jobs in January, offering mixed signals about a sustainable economic recovery.
The euro stood at 1.3626 dollars in Tokyo afternoon trade, after sliding to as low as 1.3586 in New York late on Friday.
The euro dropped to 121.65 yen from 122.01. The dollar edged up to 89.32 yen from 89.20.
The euro "was sold a bit too much last week," said Masatsugu Miyata, forex dealer at Hachijuni Bank.
Dealers said the European currency received a modest boost from remarks by eurozone finance officials at the G7 talks in Canada on Greece's efforts to rein in its public debt of more than 294 billion euros (412 billion dollars).
"The European members of the G7 have confirmed to the other partners of the G7 the substance and the significance of the (debt-reduction) plan put together by Greece, and that they are confident that it will be managed," French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said.
The single European currency has been hammered by worries that debt- ridden countries such as Greece, Spain and Portugal may be unable to restore stability to their public finances, having spent heavily to combat recession.
"In our view, European leaders would do whatever they can eventually to avoid that the sovereign (debt)-related stress spreads to a point where the euro could really be endangered." said Calyon economist Sebastien Barbe.
"And this would, at the end of the day, provide more support to the euro. However, in the short term, the market stress could remain fairly high."
Doubts about a recovery of the US job market increased after Washington said the world's largest economy shed 20,000 jobs in January, offering mixed signals about a sustainable economic recovery.