Euro falls against dollar amid Greece's debt woes

TOKYO: The euro dropped against the dollar in Asia on Tuesday, weighed down by uncertainties over a bailout for debt-ridden Greece, dealers said.

The euro fetched $1.4381 in Tokyo morning trading, down from $1.4413 in New York late Monday. The European single currency sagged to 115.32 yen from 115.54 yen.

The dollar was range-bound at 80.14 yen, compared to 80.21 yen.

The euro fell back after rising above $1.44 on Monday shrugging off Standard and Poor's announcement to slash its credit rating for Greece by three notches to CCC.

The rating agency said: "The downgrade reflects our view that there is a significantly higher likelihood of one or more defaults, as defined by our criteria relating to full and timely payment."

The euro "was bought back overnight as investors confirmed selling proved limited after S&P's downgrade and the common currency's downside was solid," said Sumino Kamei, senior analyst at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.

"But this is not a stage to bid up the euro with no clear picture yet for how the Greek debt problem would be settled. The currency lacks a clear direction," Kamei said.

Investors moved to secure profits from the euro's gain overnight, a senior dealer at a major Japanese trust bank told Dow Jones Newswires, adding market players were adjusting their positions ahead of key China data.

The market is awaiting a raft of data due out later in the global day, including China's consumer price index and US retail sales for clues to the health of the major economies, dealers said.

If the retail sales figures come weaker than expected, like many recent US economic indicators have been, dollar selling will likely be triggered, a dealer said.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011