Euro slips ahead of EU summit

TOKYO – The euro slipped against other currencies in Asia on Monday as market players awaited a European Union summit meeting to see whether leaders will make progress on containing the debt crisis.

The euro bought $1.3180 and 101.12 yen in Tokyo morning trade, down from $1.3221 and 101.37 in New York late Friday.

The dollar was at 76.72 yen against 76.67 yen in New York.

The euro eased due to falls in Tokyo stocks and uncertainty over the outcome of the EU summit in Brussels later in the day, said a trader at a Japanese trust bank.

The finance minister of debt-stricken Greece on Sunday rejected a German proposal for the EU to take control over its tax and spend decisions, citing national sovereignty.

But the Wall Street Journal reported Berlin’s finance minister issued a blunt warning the eurozone might refuse Greece a fresh bailout, pushing Athens into default, unless it convinces Europe it can overhaul its state and economy.

“Unless Greece implements the necessary decisions and doesn’t just announce them… there’s no amount of money that can solve the problem,” it quoted Wolfgang Schaeuble as saying.

A senior dealer in Tokyo told Dow Jones Newswires: “Germany looks like it can’t wait any longer” for reforms to solve the Greek debt crisis.

On the other hand the euro may be supported if an agreement is reached at the EU summit over a euro-wide fiscal stability pact and a permanent bailout fund, said Sumino Kamei, senior analyst at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.

“The sense of uncertainty over the future of the European debt crisis will recede if these agreements are reached, and short-covering of the euro will continue,” she said.