TOKYO: The euro eased against the dollar in Asian trade Tuesday amid continued investor concerns about sovereign debt problems in Europe, dealers said.
The euro eased to $1.4149 in Tokyo morning trade, down from $1.4153 in New York late Monday.
The single European currency rose to 114.59, compared to 114.34 yen in late New York trade. The dollar rose to 80.98 yen from 80.76 yen.
The euro got a slight boost on Wall Street after European finance chiefs backed a three-year 78-billion-euro bailout for Portugal, which still requires approval from all governments in the euro area.
Portugal, under pressure from the markets for months, finally sought a bailout in April after the minority socialist government and right-wing opposition failed to agree on a new round of budget cuts. The country holds an early general election on June 5.
The IMF also approved the release of 1.58 billion euros ($2.25 billion) in new assistance to debt-laden Ireland.
"European finance ministers backed a bailout plan for Portugal as they stepped up pressure on Greece to take more drastic action to win an improved bailout package," National Australia Bank said in its client note.
"Speculation is that the European Central Bank will flag a July rate hike at its next meeting in early June."
But the euro remained soft in Asian trade due to continuing concerns about sovereign debt issues in Greece and other euro-zone countries.
The greenback may rise against the yen as it is helped by recent downward pressure on oil and other commodity prices, and amid the absence of strong selling by Japanese exporters, Osamu Takashima, chief FX strategist at Citibank Japan, told Dow Jones Newswires.
"To an extent, this is a supportive development for the dollar."
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