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Singapore - The euro held steady against the dollar in quiet Asian trade on Thursday as Asian central banks bought up the currency being sold by investors for strong Aussie and Swiss units, analysts said.
The euro was trading at $1.3113, up from $1.3095 in New York on Wednesday. The unit bought ¥109.34 from ¥110.02 on Wednesday.
Markets in Japan were closed for a public holiday.
Asian central banks snapped up the European unit, preventing the euro weakening despite traders selling it for strengthening currencies such as the Aussie dollar and the Swiss franc, analysts said.
"Most people are playing the euro on the short side against the Aussie dollar and the Swiss franc," said Suresh Ramanathan, forex strategist for CIMB Investment Bank in Kuala Lumpur.
"(But) there are a lot of Asian central banks who are buying the euro," he added.
Ramanathan stated that banks were purchasing the euro to mitigate a fall in the value of their reserves due to a weakening greenback.
The euro fell below 1.25 Swiss francs on Wednesday before recovering slightly as investors continued to turn to the refuge currency in a wave of concern about the eurozone sovereign debt crisis.
The currency was trading at 1.2469 Swiss francs in morning Asian trade, edging up from 1.2460 in London on Wednesday.
The US dollar traded at ¥83.38 from ¥83.78.
