The euro was mixed in Asian trade Thursday amid worries over Europe’s fiscal woes and comments from German leader Angela Merkel casting doubt on whether the “European Project” had a solid future. The 17-nation currency bought $1.2281 and 96.64 yen in Tokyo morning trade, from $1.2280 and 96.75 yen in New York late Wednesday. The dollar also slipped against the Japanese currency, trading at 78.67 yen from 78.78 yen. It was the greenback’s first dip below 78.70 yen in about a month, with short-term speculators selling the dollar to trim losses, dealers said. “The declines are not news-driven, and large commercial sales aren’t seen,” said a currency manager at a major Japanese bank. The US currency also lost ground against the commodity-driven Australian dollar, which bought US$1.0370 from US$1.0308 Wednesday afternoon. “However, the dollar has not weakened against all major currencies. The euro has its own problems and has not been bought,” Osao Iizuka, head of FX trading at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, told Dow Jones Newswires. Merkel said Wednesday she was “optimistic” but could not be certain that the “European project” would work, in comments that cast doubt on plans for tighter European integration and weighed on the single currency.
