The euro was mixed in Asia Thursday, with traders concerned over Greece’s financial rehabilitation while the dollar hit one-month highs against the yen on encouraging US data.
The euro fetched $1.2278 in Tokyo afternoon trade against $1.2285 in New York late Wednesday, while rising to 97.24 yen from 96.91 yen.
The dollar firmed to 79.30 yen from 78.87 yen, hitting its highest level since mid-July as US inflation and industrial production data pointed to continued but modest improvement for the world’s biggest economy.
The euro remained under pressure as concerns about Athens spiked again following a report in the Financial Times that Greece will call for a two-year extension to its tough austerity programme.
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras will make the request when he meets German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande next week, the newspaper said Wednesday.
“Concerns that this proposal may get short shrift when Greek PM Samaras meets with Mrs Merkel and other EU leaders next week is set to keep euro sentiment fragile at best,” National Australia Bank said in a note.
Samaras was also scheduled to meet the head of eurozone finance ministers, Jean-Claude Juncker, for talks next week.
The dollar’s gain on the yen also came as Dow Jones Newswires said Japan’s top currency policy bureaucrat, Takehiko Nakao, will stay in the post for another year to lead the nation’s protracted fight against the surging currency.
The move would likely ensure that officials, who blame the currency’s rise on speculative trading, will keep acting against sharp rises in the yen, which hit record highs on the dollar late last year and remains strong.
A strong yen hurts Japans exporters by making their products less competitive abroad, while shrinking the value of their foreign-earned income.
The dollar was mostly firmer against other Asia-Pacific currencies.
The greenback rose to 55.94 Indian rupees from 55.52 rupees on Wednesday and to 1,134.05 South Korean won from 1,129.99 won, to 42.37 Philippine pesos from 42.11 pesos and to Sg$1.2521 from Sg$1.2483.
The dollar also gained to 9,505 Indonesian rupiah from 9,500 rupiah and to 31.55 Thai baht from 31.48 baht while holding steady at Tw$29.98.
The Australian dollar turned up to $1.048 after hitting an eight-day low of 1.045 on Wednesday.
The Chinese yuan bought 12.42 yen against 12.38 yen.
