-- Euro pushed further to long-term lows, Asian currencies slip after S&P's euro-zone sovereign downgrades Friday -- Concerns continue over a potential downgrade of EFSF -- The market is focusing on France's bond auction later in day and the resumption of Greece's debt talks By Martin Vaughan Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--The euro was pushed to further long-term lows and Asian currencies slipped Monday in Asia, after ratings firm Standard & Poor's downgrade of European sovereigns Friday continued to weigh on the common currency and emerging market plays. The fact that the downgrade was widely anticipated hasn't protected the euro from losses. "S&P's decision to downgrade the U.S. back in August 2011 was similarly thought to be 'discounted' and hardly newsworthy given the poor state of U.S. sovereign finances, yet it still set off a firestorm and prompted significant asset market weakness," Westpac wrote in a note to clients. "We see limited scope for (the euro to) bounce." The euro was at Y97.16 at 0450 GMT, after touching a fresh 11-year low of Y97.04, from Y97.70 late Friday in New York and was at $1.2647, down from $1.2678 late New York, according to EBS. Asian currencies were dragged lower as equities markets tumbled on the downgrade news, which emerged after Asian markets closed last week. S&P's gloomy assessment of Europe soured the mood throughout Asia Monday. Even Taiwan failed to get a boost from the re-election of President Ma Ying-jeou over the weekend. The Taiwan dollar fell against the U.S. unit and the Taiex was down 1.0% as of 0430 GMT. The Australian dollar was at $1.0278 from $1.0326 late New York. Meanwhile, concerns continued over a potential downgrade of the euro zone's bailout fund--the European Financial Stability Facility, whose own rating depends largely on the credit quality of the countries that back it, although the euro-zone member states said Friday they will explore options to maintain the triple-A rating of their bailout fund. The market focus is on France's short-term Treasury bill auction later in the day and this week's resumption of negotiations between Greece and private-sector creditors after they broke down last Friday, market participants said. "While we are hopeful that a disorderly outcome (in Greece) will be avoided, we think that even a reweighting of market risk perceptions may be enough to keep the euro on its back foot this week," said Win Thin, global head of emerging markets strategy at Brown Brother Harriman. The dollar was at Y76.83 from Y76.95 and at CHF0.9543 from CHF0.9520. The U.K. pound was at $1.5307 from $1.5318. The ICE Dollar Index, which tracks the U.S. dollar against a basket of currencies, was at 81.585 from 81.473. -By Martin Vaughan, Dow Jones Newswires; +65 6415 4033; martin.vaughan@dowjones.com -Alex Martin in Tokyo contributed to this article.

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