Euro steady as market awaits Europe debt progress

The euro was almost flat against the dollar in Asia on Thursday as market players looked for progress in the European debt crisis after news the International Monetary Fund would seek more resources.The euro bought $1.2859 and 98.68 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade, compared with $1.2862 and 98.78 yen in New York late Wednesday.The dollar traded at 76.75 yen, hardly changed from New York.The euro had soared overnight after the IMF said Wednesday it needed up to $500 billion more to pad its war chest -- a move understood to be aimed at stalling fallout from the eurozone crisis.The common currency had also gained on hopes that ongoing Greek debt talks would bear fruit.The euro was resilient after briefly falling to $1.2841 on a mixed jobs report in Australia released early Thursday.Investors were now focused on the Greek governments discussions with its creditors over a voluntary debt writedown, traders said. The government resumed talks Wednesday after negotiations between the two sides broke down last week.The euro will likely rise further if an agreement can be reached by the end of this week, traders said.The euro can rise by another 50 points, Mitsuru Sahara, a senior dealer at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, told Dow Jones Newswires.Investors were also watching auctions of French and Spanish sovereign bonds later Thursday.Masafumi Yamamoto, chief Japan currency strategist at Barclays Capital, said the tenders will likely meet solid demand, especially after the IMF said it may beef up its assistance for Greece.After the IMF thing, its natural to think that todays European debt auctions will be smooth, Yamamoto said.The dollar was lower against other Asian currencies.The greenback fell to 31.72 Thai baht from 31.77 on Wednesday, to Sg$1.2777 from Sg$1.2817, to 43.31 Philippine pesos from 43.52 and to 1,141.40 South Korean won from 1,145.40.It also eased to 9,067.00 Indonesian rupiah from 9,180.00 and to Tw$29.91 from Tw$29.95.