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Euro dips on Greek default worries

Tokyo - The euro dipped on Monday on fears about a Greek default, as tense talks between Athens and its international creditors lumber along with no breakthrough in sight.

In Tokyo, the euro slipped to $1.0780 and ¥127.89 from $1.0810 and ¥128.49 in New York.

The dollar fetched ¥118.62, down from ¥118.86 in US trade.

At the weekend, both European Central Bank (ECB)  chief Mario Draghi and IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde warned at IMF-World Bank spring meetings in Washington that Greece has not provided enough information about how its economic and reform plans will impact its finances.

READ: Greek economic plan requires details - US

With Greece seeking the release of another €7.2bn in bailout funds from the European Union, Draghi cautioned that not reaching an agreement would take the situation into "uncharted waters".

He and Lagarde said that however the new leftist Greek government of Alexis Tsipras wanted to adjust policies under the country's massive bailout, it still needed to demonstrate the effect on the budget and debt.

"More work, much more work is needed now, and it's urgent," Draghi said.

Greece's deputy prime minister Ioannis Dragasakis said in an interview published Sunday that Athens would stand firm in negotiations with its creditors.

"There is no way we would cross red lines that we have set," he said, while refusing to rule out the possibility of new elections or a referendum if the talks remained deadlocked.

Both sides are seeking to do a deal before eurozone finance ministers meet on April 24.

"There are concerns over the ability of Greece and its creditors to reach an agreement at the euro finance ministers meeting," Toshiya Yamauchi, a senior analyst in Tokyo at Ueda Harlow, wrote in a note to clients.

"The euro's rally amid those circumstances feels all wrong."

After the euro appeared last month to be on its way to hitting parity with the dollar for the first time since 2002, the embattled unit staged a rally, partly due to hopes for a Greek deal.

Draghi stood behind the euro at the weekend, saying it was "pointless to go short on the euro" and challenged traders who were sour on the currency to "do it". Traders short sell a currency if they expect it to fall.

The dollar was mostly weaker against other Asia-Pacific currencies Monday.

It slipped to Sg$1.3447 from Sg$1.3477 on Friday, to Tw$31.00 from Tw$31.10, to 1 081.95 South Korean won from 1 083.95 won, and to 32.37 Thai baht from 32.40 baht.

The greenback also weakened to 44.25 Philippine pesos from 44.36 pesos while it rose to 62.54 Indian rupees from 62.37 rupees and to 12 879.00 Indonesian rupiah from 12 862.00 rupiah.

The Australian dollar rose to 78.01 US cents from 77.80c, while the Chinese yuan eased to ¥19.13 from ¥19.22.

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