Euro steadies against dollar

The euro steadied against the dollar on Thursday after falling on worries about the Greek debt crisis. The European single currency was scarcely changed at $1.4190 in morning trading in London compared with $1.4193 in New York late on Wednesday. The shared eurozone unit had struck a three-week low point of $1.4172 on Wednesday, as investors fretted about Greece's debt crisis amid widespread protests against the government's austerity program. "Euro selling took a pause but its weak undertone remains unchanged amid uncertainties over the eurozone debt problem," said Tomohiro Ishikawa, a dealer at Chuo Mitsui Trust and Banking. On Wednesday in Athens, police clashed with protesters near parliament as thousands demonstrated against a new wave of austerity cuts designed to keep the country's economy afloat. Last year, Greece undertook to restructure its economy after receiving a loan worth 110 billion euros ($155 billion) from the European Union and International Monetary Fund to avert insolvency when its borrowing costs soared. However, its overall debt has swollen to 340 billion euros, leading to mounting speculation -- even from Greek officials -- that it will need other options to maintain repayments when the EU-IMF loan expires in 2013. The IMF said on Thursday that its analysis did not point to Greece having to restructure its debt, noting that the country had assets worth several hundred billion euros which it could sell. Its comments come amid widespread belief on financial markets that it will need another 60 billion euros over the next two years. Sterling slid against the euro and dollar after official data showed British manufacturing output rose only modestly in March. Sterling had won support on Wednesday after Bank of England data indicated that Britain was set for an interest rate hike before the end of the year. British interest rates have stood at a record-low level of 0.50 percent since March 2009 as the country's weak economic recovery offsets high inflation. In London on Thursday, the euro changed hands at $1.4190 against $1.4193 late in New York on Wednesday, at 114.96 yen (115.00), £0.8718 (0.8682) and 1.2587 Swiss francs (1.2594). The dollar stood at 81.02 yen (81.02) and 0.8871 Swiss francs (0.8872). The pound was at $1.6275 (1.6346). On the London Bullion Market, gold prices dropped to $1,488.95 an ounce from $1,508 late on Wednesday.