TOKYO: The euro rose to its highest level in nearly five months against the yen in Asian trade Wednesday and also gained ground on the dollar, as worries over the eurozone's debt crisis eased.
The common unit was changing hands at 111.03 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade, up from 110.66 in New York late Tuesday.
The euro rose to 111.14 yen earlier in the afternoon, scoring its highest level since October 31 when the European unit jumped to above 111.00 yen after a yen-selling intervention by Japan.
The euro also rose to $1.3269 from $1.3222 in New York, while the dollar was changing hands at 83.67 yen, compared with 83.70 yen in New York.
Europe's single currency could flirt with its post-intervention high of 111.57 yen, said Junichi Ishikawa, forex analyst at IG Markets Securities in Tokyo.
"The euro/yen's upward momentum may well continue, likely testing 111.57 in the near term," he told Dow Jones Newswires.
Worries over Europe's sovereign debts have diminished after Greece on Tuesday received a payment of 7.5 billion euros ($9.9 billion) under its second international bailout.
The dollar may climb back above 84.00 yen if February home sales due to be released later Wednesday show further signs of improvement in the US housing market, said Masafumi Yamamoto, chief forex strategist at Barclays Capital.
A Dow Jones survey of economists forecasts US existing home sales of 4.63 million, an increase of 1.3 percent from January. "We expect figures to surpass market expectations," Yamamoto said.
The dollar was mostly up against Asian currencies, rising to Sg$1.2633 from Sg$1.2590 on Tuesday, to 1,128.60 South Korean won from 1,125.00 won, to Tw$29.54 from Tw$29.52 and to 43.05 Philippine pesos from 42.93 pesos.
It also firmed to 9,175.00 Indonesian rupiah from 9,145.00 rupiah but traded at 30.74 Thai baht against 30.76 baht.
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