Euro slips in Asia

The euro slipped in Asia on Thursday and faces headwinds from suspicions that Europe's efforts to fix its debt crisis may not be fast enough to keep markets happy, while the Australian dollar was knocked by a surprise decline in the country's employment levels.
Still, any zeal to sell the common currency is, at least for now, being countered by expectations that US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke might drop clearer hints on the likelihood of more stimulus later this month. The market's immediate focus is on the European Central Bank, which is expected to signal a change in policy direction by halting an interest-rate rise cycle as the euro zone debt crisis weighs on the region's economy.
The bank's chief, Jean-Claude Trichet, will hold a news conference at 1230 GMT. Constant difficulty in getting all 17 member countries to agree on policies, including whether to take collateral from Greece for aid, has even given rise to concerns among some market players that the euro zone may eventually need to break up. The euro shed 0.2 percent in Asia to trade at $1.4065, down about a full cent from a high hit on relief after a German court did not block the country's involvement in eurozone bailouts on Wednesday.
Major resistance for the euro is seen at around $1.4200, the 38.2 retracement of its fall from late August to early September. The euro slipped 0.1 percent to 1.2080 franc but stayed above the minimum exchange rate the Swiss central bank imposed on Monday. Against the yen, the greenback stood at 77.31 yen and is seen stuck around that level as selling from Japanese exporters is seen capping the pair, likely below 77.50 yen in Thursday' Asian trade. Wariness about Japanese intervention is also supporting the dollar.
The Australian dollar fell 0.6 percent to $1.0590, after Australian employment unexpectedly fell in August while the jobless rate ticked up to a 10-month high. The disappointing report prompted the Australian money market futures to price in rate cuts of nearly 0.75 percentage points by the end of the year, even though the country's economy had seen robust growth so far thanks to strong demand for raw materials from China.