TOKYO: The euro remained weak in Asia on Wednesday following a European Central Bank official's warning it would not restructure Greece's debt, while dealers are also on edge over a possible Spain bailout.
The euro bought $1.2901 and 100.29 yen in Tokyo midday trade against $1.2902 and 100.36 yen in New York late Tuesday.
The dollar was at 77.73 yen against 77.79 yen, with the US unit held up by speculation Japanese authorities may step into markets to stem the yen's strength.
Worries over Greece were in focus as ECB executive board member Joerg Asmussen dismissed an idea raised by Athens that the country's bonds held by the bank could be rolled over to bridge a financing gap.
His comments came after Greek deputy finance minister Christos Staikouras last week told parliament the maturity of Athens' bonds owned by the ECB and worth around 28 billion euros could be extended by mutual agreement.
Greece is struggling to apply a fiscal overhaul mandated by the ECB, European Union and International Monetary Fund in return for a new tranche of bailout cash.
And Spain's government is expected Thursday to adopt a 2013 austerity budget that could be a precursor to a full-blown bailout, although Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has refused to ask until he knows what the conditions will be.
A request for cash would allow the ECB to then step in and begin buying Madrid's sovereign bonds, which would then ease the country's debt woes.
"Developments in Spain will be crucial to how the euro -- and risk sensitive currencies in general -- perform over the remainder of the week," National Australia Bank said in a note.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.