For EU bailout :

Euro firms as China voices support

The euro slightly firmed Tuesday morning after a senior Chinese official reportedly expressed support for measures by the European Union to tackle the eurozone debt crisis, dealers said.

The euro fetched 1.3177 dollars in Tokyo morning trade against 1.3126 dollars in New York late Monday. The single European currency rose to 110.27 yen from 109.95 yen.

The dollar eased to 83.64 yen from 83.78 yen.

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan said Tuesday that China supports the measures taken by the EU and the International Monetary Fund to aid financial stability in the eurozone, according to the Dow Jones Newswires.

At an EU summit last week, European leaders agreed to create a permanent crisis-finance program from 2013 to bail out indebted eurozone countries such as Ireland.

But there was no decision to increase its size beyond the bloc's temporary 750 billion euro fund, disappointing markets..

Deepening economic ties between China and the EU serves both sides' interests, Wang told an EU-China high level economic and trade meeting, Dow Jones said.

The comment prompted euro purchases on expectations of China's support for the currency, with Beijing holding massive euro-denominated reserves.

"The comment temporarily supported the euro but since the outlook (for EU bailout measures) remains murky, the market is unlikely to make big moves before Christmas," said Masatsugu Miyata, forex dealer at Hachijuni Bank.

The euro reached a new low against the Swiss franc on Monday, slumping below the 1.27 franc barrier for the first time as investors turned to Switzerland's safe haven currency, analysts said.

Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa is scheduled to hold a news conference later Tuesday following the central bank's policy meeting in which it decided to hold its key rate between zero and 0.1 percent.

The central bank eased its monetary policy in October to keep its key interest rate effectively at zero and announced a five trillion yen asset purchasing programme to boost liquidity in a sluggish economy. Tokyo, (AFP)