-- Dollar steady against the yen following sharp overnight fall on weak U.S. data -- Major Asian currencies down as investors flee from riskier assets -- Moody's downgrades 16 Spanish banks By Alexander Martin Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES TOKYO (Dow Jones)--The dollar remained steady, albeit at a lower level, against the yen during Asian trading Friday, but riskier Asian currencies fell sharply as the euro-zone crisis and disappointing U.S. data caused the region's stock markets to plummet. The dollar's fall to Y79.13 overnight, marking its biggest single-day drop in over a year, came after a weak reading on the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's manufacturing index, and prompted Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi to warn Friday that the yen's climb was "volatile" and speculator-driven, and that "appropriate measures" could be taken if necessary. "Verbal intervention by authorities have begun," said Kengo Suzuki, forex strategist at Mizuho Securities, saying that such warnings were likely to increase in frequency if the dollar edges down towards Y78 - a level where the government used so-called "stealth intervention" last November in a move to stem the yen's gains. Although the yen steadied against the dollar in Asian trading after its overnight surge, the Australian dollar fell to its lowest level against the greenback since late November as Asian shares fell following the weak U.S. data and fears of a Greek exit from the euro-zone. The dollar hit a five-month high against the Korean won at KRW1,175.40 from KRW1,162.90 late Thursday in Seoul, and Dow Jones cited traders as saying the Bank Of Korea was suspected of selling dollars several times during the session to support the Korean currency. The U.S. currency also hit a more-than-three-month high against the Taiwan dollar. The fall in Asian currencies came amid a heavy selloff in the region's stock markets: South Korea's Kospi slumped to a five-month low, eliminating all of the gains made so far in 2012, while shares in Tokyo and Sydney were also sharply weaker. As of 0600 GMT, the dollar was at Y79.27 from Y79.26 late Thursday in New York, according to trading platform EBS. The euro was at $1.2670 from $1.2697 and at Y100.43 from Y100.64. The Australian dollar was at $0.9812, down from US$0.9945 late Thursday. The euro continued to be pressured against the dollar and yen as Moody's Investors Service downgraded 16 Spanish banks in the latest blow for a country already facing economic recession and surging unemployment. The situation in Greece also remained unclear as it prepared for next month's reelections after failed attempts to form a coalition. The head of Greece's radical left party Syriza, considered a front-runner in the upcoming reelection, said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that there was little chance that Europe would cut off funding to the country and if it did, Greece would repudiate its debts. "In other words they cut off our funding, then we will be forced to stop paying our creditors, to go to a suspension in payments to our creditors," said Alexis Tsipras, warning that financial collapse in Greece would drag down the rest of the euro zone. "Euro-selling pressure will likely continue without any positive news expected to come out of Greece until the reelection on June 17," said Masafumi Yamamoto, chief forex strategist at Barclays in Tokyo, adding that if the dollar failed to climb higher from its current levels against the yen, the euro could be pressured, potentially breaching Y100.00. The ICE Dollar Index, which tracks the U.S. dollar against a basket of currencies, was at 81.629 from about 81.474. -By Alexander Martin, Dow Jones Newswires; 813-6269-2783; alexander.martin@dowjones.com

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