Euro slips as eurozone debt concerns rise

NEW YORK: The euro weakened against the dollar Wednesday amid persistent signs of divisions among European policymakers over how to resolve the eurozone public debt crisis.

The euro was trading at $1.3536 around 2100 GMT, compared to $1.3590 at the same time Tuesday.

Against the Japanese currency, the euro dived to 103.60 yen from 104.43 yen Tuesday. The dollar also fell against the yen, to 76.53 yen from 76.84 yen.

The European common currency had climbed as high as $1.3690 before beating a retreat.

"Broader market sentiment and foreign currency gains are more mixed today, after two days of solid advances. Markets remain intensely focused on European developments, where only slow and tentative progress in addressing the region's debt crisis is being made," said Nick Bennenbroek, head of currency strategy at Wells Fargo Bank.

Bennenbroek noted that Finland's parliament on Wednesday approved the expanded powers for the Europe Union's emergency aid fund, the European Financial Stability Facility. Finland was the 10th of the eurozone's 17 member countries to ratify the plan.

"But media reports hint at an emerging split between eurozone countries on the extent of losses that private-sector bondholders should bear for Greece's bailout," he said.

Germany, the eurozone's paymaster, is to vote on the amended EFSF Thursday, prompting caution among market participants.

The dollar firmed against the Swiss currency, to 0.9001 francs from 0.8957 francs late Tuesday.

The greenback also rose against the British pound, which traded at $1.5578 compared to $1.5634 the prior day.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011