TOKYO, Feb 9 – The euro inched up against the dollar on Tuesday but remained within sight of an 8-½ month low hit last week, held back by persistent worries about the fiscal health of some euro zone countries.
Investors awaited a special European Union summit on the economy on Thursday as the bloc grapples with a debt crisis in Greece and budget concerns in other member states.
Market activity is likely to be subdued as investors are unwilling to place big bets due to concerns about sovereign credit risks in the euro zone, traders said.
“It still looks like there is strong downside power against the euro,” said Akira Hoshino, chief manager in the foreign exchange trading department at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.
“But any positive news for the euro from the EU summit would give the currency a chance to rebound to some degree” he said.
The head of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet, is leaving a Sydney meeting of central bankers early to attend a European Council meeting, an official at the Reserve Bank of Australia said on Tuesday.
The euro edged up 0.1 per cent from late US trading on Monday to $1.3667. The euro fell to $1.3585 on trading platform EBS last week, its lowest since May 2009.
The euro rose 0.3 per cent against the yen to 122.17 yen, after dropping to 120.70 yen on Friday, its lowest in about a year.
The dollar inched up 0.1 per cent against the yen to 89.38 yen. – Reuters
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