The euro crawled off its record lows in Asian trade Tuesday morning but was still languishing below 86 US cents, with investors skeptical about intervention prospects.
The single European currency slumped to a new low of $0.8567 in New York after tumbling through the 86-cent level for the first time in European trading.
By 11:20 a.m. (0220 GMT) in Tokyo the euro had recovered a notch to $0.8583, up from $0.8575 late in New York.
"Trading here has been quiet so far, particularly in the euro," Dai-ichi Kangyo Fuji Trust Bank dealer Kazuhiro Kaneko said.
"Investors are sidelined after it hit a record low again in overseas trading against both the yen and the dollar."
The euro was trading at 91.22 yen at 11:20 a.m., up from its new low of 90.85 but down from 91.63 in late Tokyo trade Monday.
"But we suspect investors will again try to press down the currency after markets open in Europe," Kaneko added.
"Investors judge that intervention (by the European Central Bank) is not imminent as policymakers have shown an uncoordinated stance in their policies on the euro."
The euro has got no respite from a weekend meeting of European Union finance ministers, which brought lukewarm threats of intervention from ministers and ECB deputy president Christian Noyer.
Economists are predicting no change in ECB interest rates in support of the euro when the central bank holds its fortnightly policymaking meeting on Thursday.
The dollar meanwhile bought 106.25 yen, against 106.67 yen in New York and 106.18 yen in Tokyo late Monday.
Dollar-yen "trading lacks fresh leads, and it has been confined to a narrow range," the dealer said.— (AFP)
© Agence France Presse 2000
