Singapore - The euro edged up in Asia on Monday ahead of key talks between Greece and its international creditors aimed at hashing out a last-minute debt deal.
The single currency rose to $1.1416 from $1.1393 and to 135.38 yen from 135.29 yen in US trading, with the common currency winning some support from better-than-expected eurozone growth data last week.
In Tokyo, the greenback weakened to 118.58 yen from 118.74 yen in New York on Friday.
Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis will on Monday meet his counterparts from the eurozone in Brussels to get their backing for an overhaul of the austerity-laden bailout, which Athens says has crippled the country's economy.
While it faces stern opposition, mostly from key European paymaster Germany, Varoufakis and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras say they are confident they can win over sceptics.
Global markets are hoping a deal can be reached before the end of the month, when Greece's bailout is due to expire. Failure to agree an extension would see it default on its giant debts and likely mean it would crash out of the eurozone.
Official data released on Friday showed the eurozone economy picked up in the fourth quarter, expanding by a better-than-expected 0.3 percent after a 0.2 percent rise in the third quarter.
The currency bloc's fourth-quarter growth was led by a 0.7 percent gain in Germany, Europe's largest economy, that also beat estimates.
The European Central Bank will next month launch an unprecedented trillion-euro bond-buying programme through in a bid to ward off deflation and boost the flagging eurozone economy.
The yen edged up against the dollar after figures showing Japan's economy emerged from recession in October-December, growing 0.6 percent.
However, over the full year the preliminary data showed zero growth, compared with 1.6 percent expansion in 2013. Revised data will be released in the following weeks.
While the news is likely to boost speculation of further Bank of Japan monetary easing, few expect policymakers to act at the bank's policy next meeting this week.
“There's a view emerging that the Japanese government questions the need for additional easing,” Kumiko Ishikawa, analyst at Gaitame.com Research Institute, told Bloomberg News.
“Fundamentally, (the) dollar-yen (rate) should stay anchored around the 118 level for now.”
AFP