Feb. 2 (Bloomberg) -- The euro weakened versus the yen and the dollar as Greece struggled to reach an agreement with its bondholders on cutting the nation's debt burden, adding to concern Europe's fiscal crisis will deepen. The common currency fell against 14 of its 16 most-traded counterparts as Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker said steps to tackle the debt crisis adopted at a summit on Jan. 30 were "largely insufficient." The yen rose to within 1 yen of a postwar high against the dollar, prompting speculation Japan will intervene to limit the currency's gains. The dollar remained higher as claims for jobless benefits fell last week. "The fact that it's dragged on, people are taking that as meaning that there could be more problems than they initially thought," David Mann, regional head of research for the Americas in New York at Standard Chartered Plc, said in reference to the Greek talks. "The first quarter is when people think that the crisis in Europe is going to be at the worst point, so the yen still has its safe-haven status." The euro weakened 0.5 percent to 99.81 yen at 9:10 a.m. in New York having dropped 1.8 percent over the past five trading days. The common currency fell 0.4 percent to $1.3114. The yen rose as high as 76.05 per dollar, approaching the postwar record of 75.35 set on Oct. 31, before trading up 0.1 percent at 76.10. Greece and its creditors are locked in talks over a debt- swap deal for the nation. Bondholders last week lowered their demands for an average coupon on the new debt they would get after European officials demanded they take steeper losses. The European Central Bank is likely to refuse to show its hand on how it will help cut Greece's debt burden until the deal is reached, said economists from ING Group to Deutsche Bank AG. 'Ultra Difficult' "We are skewed to the point where Europe would react more to negative news at this stage if it were to get any, and could drift on no news," said Kit Juckes, head of foreign-exchange research at Societe Generale SA in London. European Union leaders will need to take further steps when they convene again in early March, Juncker, who leads the group of euro-area finance ministers, said in a speech in Luxembourg today. He said he seeks better coordination of economic policy across the bloc and that Greek bond-swap talks with private creditors are "ultra difficult." The euro also declined as Spanish bonds fell after a debt sale. Spain auctioned 4.56 billion euros of debt due in 2015, 2016 and 2017, just surpassing its target of 4.5 billion euros ($6 billion). That compares with a 6.61 billion-euro sale on Jan. 19, which was well above the target of 4.5 billion euros. The Spanish 10-year yield climbed 11 basis points to 4.90 percent. China's Wen The euro briefly erased losses after China's Premier Wen Jiabao said his nation supports European efforts to stabilize the 17-nation currency. China is still researching the best way to participate in the European Financial Stability Facility, Wen said at a briefing with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Beijing. Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi said he "can't overlook" speculative moves in the foreign-exchange market and is ready take "decisive" actions if necessary. The Japanese ministry sold the yen on Oct. 31 on concern its advance to a record will hurt earnings at exporters. Sharp Corp., Japan's largest maker of LCD panels, yesterday forecast its worst annual loss since its founding a century ago, with its president saying exporting is "nearly impossible" with the strong yen. 'Intervene Again' "If the dollar-yen falls quickly then the Ministry of Finance might decide to intervene again," said You-Na Park, a foreign-exchange strategist at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt. "Until then we will hear continued verbal intervention since the yen is quite strong."

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