Masayuki Kitano In Singapore

(Reuters) - The euro wallowed at two-year lows against the dollar on Friday and was poised to end the week two percent weaker, weighed down by weak German manufacturing data and worries about a messy Greek exit from the euro zone. The risk-sensitive Australian dollar dipped 0.2 percent to $0.9741, coming close to the six-month low of $0.9690 hit on Wednesday as a sell-off in emerging market currencies picked up steam. Rattled by worries over lack of growth in the euro area, the fragile situation of the region's banking system and a potential messy Greek exit from the single currency bloc, the euro is poised to chalk up its biggest weekly loss since the first week of April. Macro funds and real money investors have ramped up selling of the currency, which is now down more than 5 percent ...

(Reuters) - The euro hit a 21-month low against the dollar on Wednesday ahead of an EU meeting later, with investors doubtful that leaders would come up with measures to stem the euro zone debt crisis. An informal EU summit is expected to discuss growth-boosting measures but was not expected to produce any plan that would restore optimism among investors, especially given Germany remains strongly opposed to joint euro bonds. The euro fell to $1.2615, dropping below the 2012 low of $1.2624 set in January to mark its lowest since August 2010. Fears that Greece may have to leave the euro grew after Dow Jones earlier quoted former prime minister Lucas Papademos as saying Greece had no choice but to stick with a painful austerity program or face a damaging exit from the euro zone. However, ...

(Reuters) - The euro's rebound from four-month lows stalled on Tuesday, failing to break above technical resistance, though traders said selling could be limited at least until an informal meeting of European leaders this week. Traders have been reducing their massive bets against the common currency in the past couple of days, taking note of prospects - however slender - that EU leaders may agree measures to bolster investor confidence in the euro zone on Wednesday. With speculators' short positions on the euro at a record high, traders were wary of the potential for short-squeeze, despite worries about stability of the banking system in Spain and political gridlock in Greece. "If someone is selling the euro now, I would rather use that as a chance to take profits (from euro short ...

(Reuters) - The euro fell to a 3-1/2-month low while growth-linked currencies like the Australian dollar tumbled on Friday as news of JPMorgan's trading losses from a failed hedging strategy and soft Chinese economic data spooked investors. These concerns lifted the safe-haven U.S. dollar with the euro vulnerable to more losses as political deadlock keeps Greece without a government. That has left investors fretting over the risk of the nation exiting the euro zone and fanned worries that the region's debt crisis may worsen. Traders said a reported euro option barrier at $1.2900 was the near term focus. The euro fell at one point to $1.2905 on trading platform EBS, its lowest level since late January, with stop-loss selling adding to its drop. It last stood at $1.2915, down 0.2 percent ...

(Reuters) - The euro fell on Tuesday and was vulnerable to more losses on worries that political uncertainty in Greece and a change of French president could threaten austerity plans seen as key to tackling the euro zone debt crisis. Greece's two main pro-bailout parties failed to win a majority in weekend elections, leaving questions over the country's ability to avert bankruptcy and stay in the euro. Meanwhile, Socialist French president-elect Francois Hollande has advocated an approach to tackling the debt crisis centered more on growth, which may create tensions with Germany's insistence on fiscal austerity. However, the euro stayed above the previous day's three-month low, hovering just above the $1.30 level, and traders said its losses could be limited as investors take profit on ...

(Reuters) - The euro tanked on Monday, breaking below its well-worn range from the past three months against the dollar after elections in Greece and France raised fresh concerns that the euro zone's hard-earned bailout and austerity steps could fall apart. In particular, the apparent failure of two pro-bailout ruling parties in Greece to win a majority in the parliament is throwing the future of the bailout scheme for the country into doubt. With 95 percent of votes counted, the conservative New Democracy (ND) and socialist PASOK, who have dominated Greece for decades, is seen falling short of the 151-seat threshold needed for even the most fragile majority in parliament. "The PASOK did unexpectedly poorly in the election ... Until we have more clarity on how the coalition government ...

(Reuters) - The dollar bounced back on Wednesday from 2-1/2-month lows against the Japanese yen after upbeat U.S. manufacturing data soothed fears the economy was slowing, though gains were minimal ahead of the next set of figures including payrolls. The Institute of Supply Management report showed the strongest rate of U.S. factory growth in 10 months, a surprise after a string of disappointing data and countering speculation the Federal Reserve will embark on a third round of bond buying to bolster the economy. "After the surprisingly strong ISM number, the next job data will be more important than usual. If it is strong, it could cement expectation of strong recovery at least in the United States," said Mitsuru Saito, chief economist at Tokai Tokyo Securities. The payroll data is due ...

(Reuters) - Asian shares rose on Monday as weaker-than-expected U.S. growth data left open the possibility of further monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve to boost growth, but trading was subdued with Japanese and Chinese markets closed. The dollar remained pressured by Friday's report showing annual growth in the U.S. economy cooled in the first quarter to 2.2 percent, below a 2.5 percent forecast, and concerns about lower fuel demand brought oil prices lower. "A flavor of QE (quantitative easing) is back in the air, driving the U.S. dollar lower and risky assets higher," said Sebastien Galy, strategist at Societe Generale. Asian equities followed the rise in global equities on Friday on the back of strong earnings reports, although Asian growth prospects were clouded as South ...

(Reuters) - The safe-haven yen pulled away from multi-week peaks against major currencies on Thursday after the European Central Bank official hinted at the possibility of more bond-buying, but an upcoming Italian debt sale posed more risks to jittery markets. The Australian dollar shot up more than half a percent against the dollar and the yen after unexpectedly strong local employment figures eased worries the Australian economy could suffer from slower global growth. Traders took profits on the Japanese unit which gained the previous session as riskier assets remained pressured with the euro zone debt woes back in focus and Spanish bond yields still close to a four-month high and the crucial six percent level. The yen eased 0.1 percent helping the dollar climb back to 80.90 yen, up ...