TOKYO: The euro firmed in Asia on buybacks Thursday, following earlier falls on worries about Greece's debt crisis amid widespread protests against the Athens government's austerity program, dealers said.
The euro fetched $1.4226 in Tokyo morning trading, up from 1.4193 in New York late Wednesday. The single European currency rose to 115.50 yen from 114.95. The dollar rose to 81.17 yen from 81.02 yen.
"Euro selling took a pause but its weak undertone remains unchanged amid uncertainties over the eurozone debt problem," said Tomohiro Ishikawa, dealer at Chuo Mitsui Trust and Banking.
The euro lost ground on Wednesday amid renewed concerns over Greece's debt problems and other economies in the eurozone.
In Athens police clashed with protesters near parliament as thousands demonstrated against a new wave of austerity cuts designed to keep the country's economy afloat.
Greece last year pledged to put its economy in order after taking a 110-billion-euro loan from the European Union and International Monetary Fund to avert insolvency when its borrowing costs soared.
However its overall debt has swollen to 340 billion euros, leading to mounting speculation -- even from Greek officials -- that it will need alternative options to keep up with repayments when the EU-IMF loan runs out in 2013.
Weaker-than-expected Australian employment data Thursday weighed on the Australian dollar, dealers said. The "Aussie" was at US$1.0605 from US$1.0691 late Wednesday.
Official data released Thursday showed that Japan's current account surplus in March shrank 34.3 percent from a year earlier as the devastating earthquake and tsunami on March 11 hit exports.
The surplus in the current account -- the broadest measure of trade with the rest of the world -- stood at 1.68 trillion yen ($20.7 billion) in the month.
The data had little impact on the yen's rate against the dollar as it was mostly in line with the median forecast for a 1.731 trillion yen surplus, Hideki Hayashi, global economist at Mizuho Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires.
"Rather than the current account data, the market is now focusing on the US economy, whose recovery has been slower than anticipated earlier this year," Hayashi said.
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