Euro falls amid concerns over new Greek aid

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TOKYO: The euro eased against the dollar in Asia on Wednesday amid a eurozone row over a second Greece bailout, analysts said.

The euro eased to $1.4424 in Tokyo morning trade from $1.4440 late Tuesday in New York where the single European currency staged a modest rise. The euro fell to 116.03 yen in Tokyo from 116.24.

The dollar fetched 80.46 yen, flat from New York.

The modest rise of the euro against the dollar on Tuesday "likely reflected the better US economic news and continuing Greek debt crisis," National Australia Bank currency strategist John Kyriakopoulos said in a note.

"There were rumours that a eurozone accord on a new Greek bailout may be delayed to July," he said.

The euro may fall to 1.4350 later Wednesday as uncertainty persists over the Greek aid programme with Greek bond yields sharply higher, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ senior analyst Sumino Kamei said in a note.

Eurozone chiefs struggled Tuesday to overcome deep divisions as to how far banks can be persuaded to "voluntarily" back Greece's second bailout in the battle to avoid Athens going bankrupt.

Six and a half hours of talks in Brussels ended with ministers organising another meeting in Luxembourg for Sunday evening, before planned discussions on Monday -- and ministers admitted a deal is in doubt even when European Union leaders gather for a June 23-24 summit.

The dollar got support against the yen from the release Tuesday of better-than-expected US data on retail sales and wholesale inflation.

But the greenback failed to gain further ground on Wednesday due to profit taking, a Japanese bank trader said.

Traders are also becoming wary of taking risks amid limited gains in the Nikkei stock index and on concerns that China may raise key interest rates.

The Nikkei was up 0.07 percent in late morning trade.

The state-run China Daily reported Wednesday China should hike interest rates and do so in weeks, if not days, to prevent inflation from rocketing. (AFP)