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Euro steady after Greek austerity vote

Tokyo - The euro held steady on Tuesday as investors await the next move by European leaders after Greece at the weekend voted against accepting more austerity measures, pushing closer to a eurozone exit.

In Tokyo midday trading, the common currency edged down to $1.1031 and ¥135.27 from 1.1057 and ¥135.50 in New York late on Monday.

The dollar ticked up to ¥122.65 from ¥122.55 in US trade.

"The worst-case scenario, notably Grexit, has not hurt the euro much for now, while the best-case scenarios, including a negotiated settlement, are not a great reason to buy the euro either," Alan Ruskin, a forex analyst at Deutsche Bank, told Bloomberg News.

Following the Sunday vote, the euro dropped to $1.0963 in New York electronic trade, before gaining ground in Asia on Monday.

The rally was partly driven by news that Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis was quitting, just hours after the referendum came back with a "no" to creditors' bailout reform proposals.

The government quickly replaced him with Euclid Tsakalotos, an economist who had been the pointman in negotiations with creditors since April and is seen as far less abrasive than Varoufakis.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will unveil new proposals on Tuesday at a hastily arranged emergency eurozone summit in Brussels.

With the economy on the brink, the government has extended an eight-day bank closure until Thursday on fears cash machines will run dry.

The European Central Bank, which has been keeping lenders afloat, announced it would maintain a key financial lifeline to them, but turned the screw by raising the bar for them to access the emergency funds.

"People are just hanging back and watching for the most part," Greg Peters, a senior investment officer at Prudential Financial, told Bloomberg News.

"All else being equal the euro is poised to weaken from here, particularly if you believe that the US is moving regardless" to raise interest rates.

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