TOKYO: The euro slipped against the dollar and yen in Asia on Monday as the market awaited a meeting of eurozone finance ministers on a strategy to tackle the region's debt crisis.
The euro bought $1.2894 and 99.26 yen in Tokyo morning trade, down from $1.2933 and 99.61 yen in New York late Friday. The dollar was flat, trading at 76.98 yen.
The euro is likely to remain prone to downward pressure as investors watch for any developments in talks on Greek debt as well as a European finance ministers' meeting later Monday, said a senior dealer at a major bank in Tokyo.
"There will be sharp euro-selling if the negotiations break down," he told Dow Jones Newswires.
The market is likely to be relatively quiet during Asian trading hours with many regional markets closed for the Lunar New Year holiday, he added.
Talks between Athens and its private-sector lenders on cutting around 100 billion euros ($129 billion) from Greece's massive debt of more 350 billion euros began Wednesday and were adjourned late Friday.
The top negotiator for Greece's creditors left the country Saturday but talks with the government on a debt writedown would continue, according to Greek and bank officials.
Eurozone finance ministers were to meet in Brussels on Monday. They will be joined later by their European Union counterparts from countries not sharing the common currency.
The dollar has not moved much in recent weeks.
But the greenback may rise to near 77.50 yen if Japan's trade data for December, out Wednesday, shows a deficit larger than market expectations, said Masafumi Yamamoto, chief forex strategist at Barclays Capital in Tokyo.
A Dow Jones survey of economists tips Japan's trade balance at a 150.5 billion yen ($1.95 billion) deficit for December. Tokyo is also to release data for 2011, which is expected to show its first annual deficit since 1980.
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