Euro falls in Asia amid political turmoil

The euro weakened against the dollar and yen in Asian trade yesterday as investors fretted over political uncertainty in Europe and its impact on the common currency.

The euro bought $1.2975 and 103.48 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade, down from $1.3005 and 103.84 yen in New York late Tuesday.

The dollar edged down to 79.75 yen from 79.84 yen in New York. Political turmoil in Greece and policy differences between French President-elect Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel over how to tackle the eurozone’s debt crisis will continue to weigh on the unit, said Sumino Kamei, senior analyst at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ. The “political situation remains unclear,” Kamei said. After Greece’s conservative New Democracy party failed to form a government, attention has turned to the radical left-wing party Syriza, which has said it would reject all austerity measures imposed under an EU-IMF loan deal if it comes to power.

But Credit Suisse analyst Hiromichi Shirakawa said in a note that the debt-ridden nation was unlikely to leave the eurozone even if Syriza formed a government, although more fiscally healthy nations could benefit from exiting the 17-nation bloc. - AFP