TOKYO: The euro resisted falls against the dollar in Asia Tuesday amid hopes that a eurozone finance ministers meeting later in the day will pave the way for a plan to contain the bloc's sovereign debt crisis.
The euro bought $1.3313 in Tokyo morning trade, compared with $1.3318 in New York late Monday. The common currency rose to 104.11 yen from 103.83 yen.
The unit was buoyed by optimism over the meeting, but the talks alone were unlikely to produce concrete results, said Barclays Capital chief currency strategist Masafumi Yamamoto.
"There is a high chance that the current market optimism towards the meeting will turn to disappointment soon," he told Dow Jones Newswires.
Yamamoto added that investors would keep an eye on surging borrowing costs in Europe after Italy and Belgium were forced to pay higher interest rates at bond sales Monday.
The dollar firmed to 78.20 yen from 77.97 yen, with the greenback briefly rising to 78.28 yen, its highest level since November 4.
The rise came after ratings agency Fitch on Monday reaffirmed the United States' top credit rating, but downgraded its outlook to negative on concerns about slowing growth, political gridlock in Washington and rising debt.
Also Monday, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development warned that Europe's debt crisis could plunge advanced economies into deep recession and even depression.
US President Barack Obama told top European officials Monday to take decisive action on the region's fiscal woes, while ratings agency Moody's warned that all European states were at risk of seeing their credit ratings cut.
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