TOKYO: The euro firmed against the dollar in Asian trade Monday after dealers saw nothing to support a weekend media report that Greece was thinking of leaving the eurozone.
The European single unit fetched $1.4378 from an earlier low of $1.4338, having plunged Thursday after the European Central Bank signalled that it was not likely to raise interest rates anytime soon.
Analysts said some buying back took place as investors saw no further development after a German press report on Friday said Athens was considering abandoning the euro and pulling out of the single currency area.
Greece and a senior eurozone official have strongly dismissed the German press report that appeared on the online version of Der Spiegel magazine.
It had reported that Greece had raised the possibility of such an exit during recent meetings.
"I don't think that (Greece leaving the eurozone) could possibly happen," Osao Iizuka, senior dealer at Sumitomo Trust & Banking, told Dow Jones Newswires.
Amid a relative lack of key economic indicators, the focus among investors on the Asian market will likely be on comments about European debt problems, he added.
An unnamed senior fund manager at a major investment fund in Tokyo said: "This talk of Greece possibly leaving the eurozone will likely linger for a while."
But he added: "Greece actually dropping out the eurozone is not realistic."
The euro traded at 115.94 yen, up from 115.42 late Friday in New York. The dollar fetched 80.53 yen 80.64 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade, from 80.64 Friday.
The dollar was mixed against other Asian currencies, falling to Sg$1.2321 from Sg$1.2350 on Friday, to 8,547.50 Indonesian rupiah from 8,580.00, to 43.00 Philippine pesos from 43.07, and to Tw$28.58 from Tw$28.66
The greenback firmed to 30.20 Thai baht from 30.17.
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