SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The euro and oil slipped on Wednesday as a rally the previous day fizzled on fears about Europe’s spreading debt crisis and the potential for a further reduction of positions in risky assets.

Asian stocks also fell, tracking weakness on Wall Street as firmer commodity prices were offset by lingering concerns over the economic outlook for the United States as well as euro zone debt woes.

The euro, which had rallied after better-than-expected German business confidence data on Tuesday, edged back in the direction of a two-month low of $1.3968 hit earlier this week as worries over Greece’s finances cast a pall over the single currency. It has lost roughly 6 percent since early May.

Speculative selling of the euro intensified on vague market talk that Greece may call a snap election and as investors trimmed risky positions, with a drop in U.S. stock index futures adding to pressure on the euro.

Europe’s policy options to avert a Greek debt default appear to be dwindling fast, casting a pall over the single currency and fuelling fears of a chain reaction in other heavily indebted countries in the 17-nation euro area.

“Concern about Spain and Italy might be overblown, but the Greece issue is not going away, and if Greece restructures, that may open the door for Ireland and Portugal.” said Brian Dolan, chief strategist at Forex.com.

The U.S. dollar .DXY rose 0.37 percent against a basket of major currencies.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The dollar held firm on Tuesday and stocks in Asia steadied but the euro remained on the defensive on worries that the euro zone’s debt crisis was deepening and could spread to heavyweights such as Spain.

Volatile commodity prices also kept investors on edge, with gold firming to a near two-week high as buyers looked to safe-haven assets.

Moody’s Investors Service said other stressed European sovereign debt would be affected in case of a Greek default, and separately reported it was reviewing the rating of some UK banks for a possible credit rating downgrade.

Standard & Poor’s cut its outlook for Italy to “negative” from “stable” on Saturday, while a crushing defeat for Spain’s ruling socialists in local elections raised worries about the government’s ability to curtail debt.

Madrid, which will auction more short-term debt later on Tuesday, has been seen as an example of fiscal reform.

“The huge storm of risk reduction will rip through markets if the focus turns to Spain and Italy. It’s clear they don’t have money to bail out these countries,” said Ayako Sera, a market economist at Sumitomo Trust and Banking.

“What we are seeing now could just be the beginning of it,” she added.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The dollar held firm on Tuesday and stocks in Asia steadied but the euro remained on the defensive on worries that the euro zone’s debt crisis was deepening and could spread to heavyweights such as Spain.

Volatile commodity prices also kept investors on edge, with gold firming to a near two-week high as buyers looked to safe-haven assets.

Moody’s Investors Service said other stressed European sovereign debt would be affected in case of a Greek default, and separately reported it was reviewing the rating of some UK banks for a possible credit rating downgrade.

Standard & Poor’s cut its outlook for Italy to “negative” from “stable” on Saturday, while a crushing defeat for Spain’s ruling socialists in local elections raised worries about the government’s ability to curtail debt.

Madrid, which will auction more short-term debt later on Tuesday, has been seen as an example of fiscal reform.

“The huge storm of risk reduction will rip through markets if the focus turns to Spain and Italy. It’s clear they don’t have money to bail out these countries,” said Ayako Sera, a market economist at Sumitomo Trust and Banking.

“What we are seeing now could just be the beginning of it,” she added.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The dollar held firm on Tuesday and stocks in Asia steadied but the euro remained on the defensive on worries that the euro zone’s debt crisis was deepening and could spread to heavyweights such as Spain.

Volatile commodity prices also kept investors on edge, with gold firming to a near two-week high as buyers looked to safe-haven assets.

Moody’s Investors Service said other stressed European sovereign debt would be affected in case of a Greek default, and separately reported it was reviewing the rating of some UK banks for a possible credit rating downgrade.

Standard & Poor’s cut its outlook for Italy to “negative” from “stable” on Saturday, while a crushing defeat for Spain’s ruling socialists in local elections raised worries about the government’s ability to curtail debt.

Madrid, which will auction more short-term debt later on Tuesday, has been seen as an example of fiscal reform.

“The huge storm of risk reduction will rip through markets if the focus turns to Spain and Italy. It’s clear they don’t have money to bail out these countries,” said Ayako Sera, a market economist at Sumitomo Trust and Banking.

“What we are seeing now could just be the beginning of it,” she added.

SINGAPORE, April 19 (Reuters) – Asian stocks slid on Tuesday, falling further from a three-year high hit last week as investors took profits on risks of a Greek debt restructuring in Europe and the long-term threat of a U.S. government debt downgrade.

The euro nursed heavy losses early in Asia while the yen gained across the board as worries about sovereign debt problems in Europe and the United States prompted investors to unwind carry trades.

Standard & Poor’s threatened on Monday to downgrade the United States’ prized AAA credit rating unless the Obama administration and Congress find a way to slash the yawning federal budget deficit within two years.

S&P slapped a negative outlook on the country’s top-notch credit rating and said there’s at least a one-in-three chance that it could eventually cut it.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.1 percent to 12201.59.

Japan’s Nikkei stock average fell as much as 1.5 percent after the S&P cut before closing down 1.2 percent at 9,441.03.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng also shed 1.5 percent, then climbed a bit to be off 1.2 percent. Foreign investors trimmed holdings they put on in the past few weeks.

SINGAPORE, April 19 (Reuters) – Asian markets fell on Tuesday after rating agency Standard & Poor’s lowered its U.S. credit outlook to negative, prompting a global flight to other assets.

The euro nursed heavy losses early in Asia while the yen gained across the board as worries about sovereign debt problems in Europe and the United States prompted investors to unwind carry trades.

Spot gold prices firmed below their record high, as the S&P move and other developments further stoked investors’ interest in bullion.

The S&P cut in outlook on United States debt jacks up pressure on the Obama administration and Congress to slash the yawning federal budget deficit.

S&P, which assigns ratings to guide investors on the risks involved in buying debt instruments, said the move signals at least a one-in-three chance that it could eventually cut its long-term AAA rating on the United States within two years.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei average was down 1.2 percent, or 113.89 points at 9,442.76, while the broader Topix shed 1.0 percent to 827.88.

The euro fell to as low as 116.41 yen — the lowest since March 30. The dollar also underperformed the yen, falling to a near three-week low around 82.16 , before recovering slightly to last stand at 82.59.

TOKYO/FRANKFURT, March 17 (Reuters) – Airlines pulled in extra, larger aircraft to help thousands of people leave Tokyo and European carriers began screening aircraft and crew for radiation as Japan rushed to prevent a nuclear disaster.

As an increasing number of governments from Britain to New Zealand to South Korea advised citizens to leave quake-affected northern Japan, airlines mobilised for mainly outbound traffic from one of the world’s biggest cities.

Japan has been taking measures to contain a crisis at the Fukushima nuclear power plant crippled by the earthquake and tsunami that devastated the northeast on Friday.

The U.S. State Department said the government had chartered aircraft to help Americans leave Japan and had authorised the voluntary departure of family members of diplomatic staff in Tokyo, Nagoya and Yokohama — about 600 people.

“The situation has deteriorated in the days since the tsunami and … the situation has grown at times worse with potential greater damage and fallout from the reactor,” White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters.

The U.S. travel advisory came after Australia urged citizens with non-essential roles in Japan to consider leaving Tokyo and the eight prefectures most damaged by the earthquake due to infrastructure problems rather than nuclear concerns.

“We have a real problem in terms of the infrastructure in Japan. We have uncertainty of power supply, we have problems with train services, we have problems with public transport services, many schools have closed and there is this repeated series of aftershocks,” Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices fell for a second day on Wednesday as OPEC considered raising production, pushing up Asian stocks although investors remained on edge because of the turmoil in the Middle East.

The euro nursed heavy losses early in Asia as worries about European sovereign debt problems intensified following Moody’s credit rating downgrade for Greece on Monday.

U.S. crude for April dipped to $104.63 a barrel, easing further from a 2-1/2 year high hit on Monday, after Kuwait’s oil minister said the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was considering boosting supply to offset disruptions in Libya, where government forces are trying to quash a popular uprising.

North Sea Brent crude fell nearly 50 cents to $112.60.

An official oil output increase by OPEC would signal the group’s determination to cap prices, but unrest in the region has fueled concerns about more supplies being cut off.

“Oil has stopped rising for now, but it hasn’t really retreated to levels that allows aggressive buying in risky assets, so investors will still be jittery,” said Hiroichi Nishi, general manager at Nikko Cordial Securities.

Japan’s Nikkei benchmark extended gains for a second day after the pullback in oil prices lifted Wall Street but investors remained worried that high fuel prices could stunt global economic growth and erode corporate earnings.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices fell for a second day on Wednesday as OPEC considered raising production, pushing up Asian stocks although investors remained on edge because of the turmoil in the Middle East.

The euro nursed heavy losses early in Asia as worries about European sovereign debt problems intensified following Moody’s credit rating downgrade for Greece on Monday.

U.S. crude for April dipped to $104.63 a barrel, easing further from a 2-1/2 year high hit on Monday, after Kuwait’s oil minister said the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was considering boosting supply to offset disruptions in Libya, where government forces are trying to quash a popular uprising.

North Sea Brent crude fell nearly 50 cents to $112.60.

An official oil output increase by OPEC would signal the group’s determination to cap prices, but unrest in the region has fueled concerns about more supplies being cut off.

“Oil has stopped rising for now, but it hasn’t really retreated to levels that allows aggressive buying in risky assets, so investors will still be jittery,” said Hiroichi Nishi, general manager at Nikko Cordial Securities.

Japan’s Nikkei benchmark extended gains for a second day after the pullback in oil prices lifted Wall Street but investors remained worried that high fuel prices could stunt global economic growth and erode corporate earnings.

SINGAPORE, March 8 (Reuters) – Oil prices fell more than $1 a barrel on Tuesday, pulling away from two-and-a-half year highs, but Asian stocks remained under pressure as investors worried higher energy prices could stunt the global economic recovery.

U.S. crude oil futures fell $1.30 to $104.14 and Brent crude dropped to $113.60 after reports that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was looking for a way to step down and as Kuwait’s oil minister said OPEC was in talks to increase production to ease worries about Middle East supply disruptions.

European shares were expected to edge up, rebounding from losses the previous day, as crude prices retreated. U.S. stock index futures rose 0.6 percent, pointing to a firmer opening on Wall Street. .

“The market’s fundamentals are recovering on corporate earnings so sentiment for the longer term is good. But for the short-term, the market may see some correction due to continuing worries about developments in the Middle East,” said Hajime Nakajima, deputy general manager at Cosmo Securities.

Market players have been focused on the prospect of a European Central Bank interest rate rise as early as next month, but the euro zone debt crisis returned to the fore on Monday, when Moody’s slashed Greece’s sovereign rating by three notches.

The euro edged higher on Tuesday but crowded bets on the currency could cause a near-term decline before it is able to take another shot at its November peak just above $1.4280. .

Japan’s Nikkei benchmark edged higher as investors covered short positions after selling heavily on Monday, but analysts said gains may be limited as concerns about turmoil in the Middle East and high oil prices persist.