Euro slide continues in Asian trade

TOKYO — The euro’s downward slide continued in Asian trade Wednesday after Spanish borrowing rates shot up to close to danger levels.

The single currency was lower in Tokyo, buying $1.2471 and 99.13 yen, down from $1.2503 and 99.39 yen in New York on Tuesday.

“We may see the pair bounce back slightly after overnight falls, but conditions are not right for continued buying of the single currency as there are plenty of euro-negative factors,” Kengo Suzuki, currency strategist at Mizuho Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires.

Spanish banks are at the heart of the renewed crisis, with the government forced to step in and save Bankia from bad mortgage bets.

That has only added to the weight of debt the Spanish state must bear.

The dollar was stable at 79.51 yen, compared with 79.49 in New York.

Market players are taking a wait-and-see stance for the pair ahead of key US indicators later this week, including the US jobs report for May due out Friday, analysts said.

Barclays chief currency strategist Masafumi Yamamoto said the dollar could be supported if New York Federal Reserve Bank’s president William Dudley later in the day makes negative remarks about the need for additional easing.