Euro falls against dollar, yen in Asia

TOKYO – The euro fell against the dollar and yen in Asia on Monday as risk appetite was dampened by uncertainty over the progress on Greek budget cuts to qualify for a new tranche of rescue cash, dealers said.

The euro bought $1.2945 and 100.92 yen in Tokyo midday trade, down from $1.2985 and 101.42 yen in New York late Friday.

The dollar was changing hands at 78.03 yen, down slightly from 78.12 yen.

Athens and its international lenders have still not reached agreement on a new round of budget cuts that will see it given more bailout money, Kengo Suzuki, forex strategist at Mizuho Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires.

“The risk sentiment-driven rally has begun to lose steam as profit-taking kicks in and uncertainty over Greece and Spain come back into the spotlight,” Suzuki said, referring to Madrid’s ongoing financial woes and need for a possible bailout.

Greece must present the “troika” – the European Commission, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund – with a multi-billion euro budget-cutting plan by Friday.

The worries over Greece come add to a string of weak data out of China, the United States and the eurozone.

“The euro will be under pressure as the ECB is expected to lower its key rate in November or in December,” Masafumi Yamamoto, chief currency strategist at Barclays Capital, said in a note to clients.

“The prospect of the eurozone’s economic recovery is still uncertain given the global economic slowdown,” he said.