TOKYO: The euro weakened in Asia Monday after European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi said policymakers may need to take action to stem the unit's rise.
In Tokyo midday trade, the single currency weakened to $1.3848 and 140.62 yen, down from $1.3882 and 141.11 yen in New York Friday.
The dollar also fell to 101.54 yen, from 101.65 yen in US trading.
At the weekend, Draghi hinted at further policy moves after the ECB stood pat at its meeting earlier this month, while he also warned over the threat of deflation in the 18-member bloc.
"The strengthening of the exchange rate would require monetary stimulus" as long as interest rates are already extremely low, he said.
Draghi also said that the ECB "should not be complacent" about extremely low inflation, which many fear could stall Europe's economic rebound.
His comments came days after the International Monetary Fund again urged the ECB to take action to head off the threat of falling prices.
The dollar has been under pressure after minutes from the Fed's March policy meeting released last week suggested there was still little chance the Fed would significantly move up its timetable for raising benchmark interest rates.
Investors were looking to US retail sales data later in the day and the Fed's Beige Book measure of regional economies due mid-week for the latest clues about the state of the world's largest economy.
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