SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The euro came under fresh pressure in Asia on Wednesday as worry about euro zone debt intensified after EU ministers failed to seal a deal on Greece, prompting a move away from riskier assets which helped gold extend gains.
Asian stocks largely opened higher as positive data from the world's two largest economies encouraged investors to buy into growth-sensitive assets. But later, concern about the global outlook and the Greek debt crisis soon weighed, and indexes slipped into negative territory.
Oil fell on Wednesday as the dollar strengthened after the failure to reach agreement on a second bailout for Greece, while rising gasoline stockpiles in top consumer the United States signaled fuel demand is stalling.
The euro, which just on Friday hit a record low versus the Swiss franc at under 1.2000, jumped to a high of 1.2254 francs early on Wednesday after better-than-expected U.S. retail sales and Chinese inflation data.
But renewed worry about Greek debt unnerved the market and the euro eased back to 1.2172 against the franc by 0240 GMT (10:40 p.m. ET on Tuesday).
Euro zone ministers failed on Tuesday to reach agreement on how private holders of Greek debt should share the costs of a new bailout, putting the onus on the leaders of Germany and France to forge a deal later this week.
"The problem is not the fact that Greece is likely to face some form of a default. The problem is that the debate over the involvement of private investors in the rescue scheme drags on, making market participants jittery," said Teppei Ino, a currency analyst at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.
The euro came under pressure as it failed to break through $1.4500 and was down 0.2 percent at $1.4414 after reaching an Asian session high of $1.4451. The euro eased 0.3 percent against the yen to 115.95.
