RPT-FOREX-Euro soft, yen gains as Greek woes again check risk

                                
 (Reapeats to fix format)
                                
 * Euro near lows vs dollar, hits 2-month trough vs sterling
                                
 * Greek debt, peripherals stoke investor anxiety
                                
 * Stops seen around $1.3350 with support around $1.3340
                                
 By Charlotte Cooper
                                
 TOKYO, April 22 (Reuters) - The euro remained soft on
Thursday on continued worries about Greece financing its debt
obligations and concerns about other euro zone economies, while
the yen benefited as investors closed risk trades in
higher-yielders.
                                
 The pound, helped by upbeat data the previous day, hit a
two-month peak against the euro, which steadied around $1.3400
<EUR=> but remained within range of March's 10-month low on the
dollar at $1.3267.
                                
 Traders say initial euro support is at $1.3340, the April 9
low, with loss-cutting sell orders lined up at $1.3350.
                                
 "There's a bit of caution and profit-taking going around
following the fairly sharp rally in risk that we've seen in the
early part of the week," said Sue Trinh, senior currency
strategist at Royal Bank of Canada in Hong Kong.
                                
 The spread of Greek government bonds over benchmark German
Bunds widened beyond 500 basis points on Wednesday, the highest
in 12 years, while the cost of insuring against a Greek default
climbed to a record high. [ID:nLDE63K2B8].
                                
 Spreads of Portuguese government bonds over Bunds also
widened, spurring fears that the problems facing Greece could be
seeping to other southern European countries.
                                
 "Peripheral European spreads have blown out with Greek
spreads going through 500. That's weighed on most of the risk
proxies generally," Trinh said.
                                
 Greece is racing to raise 10 billion euros next month and
investors are increasingly convinced it will have to tap a euro
zone and IMF package. It started talks with European and IMF
officials on Wednesday on a potential aid deal but it could take
several weeks before a plan can be finalised. [ID:nLDE63K0CE]
                                
 The euro fell to 86.75 pence <EURGBP=D4>, its lowest in two
months. It also shed 0.3 percent to 124.34 yen <EURJPY=R>.
                                
 YEN GAINS
                                
 As well as some unwinding of positions in higher yielding
currencies such as the Australian dollar which are funded by yen,
dealers said the Japanese currency was also being bought by
foreign players on newspaper reports the Bank of Japan may
upgrade its inflation and growth forecasts.
                                
 The Yomiuri daily said the BOJ was expected to forecast
consumer price growth of up to around 0.2 percent for the year to
March 2012 in an outlook to be issued on April 30.
                                
 It was also likely to revise up its GDP forecast for the
fiscal year ending next March 31 to around 2 percent from 1.3
percent projected three months ago. [ID:nTOE63L02B]
                                
 Foreigners were buying on the basis this meant the central
bank would stay away from additional monetary easing steps,
although the speculation is not new and was also an excuse for
investors wanting to buy yen, a trader at a Japanese bank said.
                                
 "The yen is mostly being buoyed by short-covering on the back
of a media report of the BOJ taking a more bullish stance on the
economy and a fall in U.S. yields and stock prices, as well as
continued uncertainty surrounding Greece," said Minoru Shioiri,
chief manager of foreign exchange trading at Mitsubishi UFJ
Securities.
                                
 The dollar fell 0.4 percent to 92.86 yen <JPY=>. The yield on
the benchmark 10-year Treasury note <US10YT=RR> fell below 3.75
percent on Wednesday from above 3.8 percent the day before,
making returns less attractive.
                                
 The Australian dollar also shed 0.3 percent to 86.07 yen
<AUDJPY=R>, while the New Zealand dollar dipped 0.1 percent to
66.03 yen <NZDJPY=R>.
                                
 The dollar index <.DXY>, which tracks the value of the
greenback against a basket of six currencies, was almost
unchanged at 81.159, after this week's trough of 80.76.
                                
 The Group of 20 and International Monetary Fund meetings
start in Washington on April 22, and the focus is on two proposed
new taxes on banks and Basel III proposals for tightening capital
requirements for banks. [ID:nN14251988]
                                
 President Barack Obama is also due to speak later on Thursday
and is expected to call on the financial industry to support
regulatory reform. [ID:nN2185275] [ID:nN21118642]
                                
 "If Obama places an emphasis on regulation and stricter
rules, that would be a downside risk for financial markets," said
Shioiri of Mitsubishi UFJ Securities.
                                
 "Stocks as well as commodities such as oil could fall, and
there's a risk the yen will attract more buying."
 (Additional reporting by Anirban Nag in Sydney and Kaori Kaneko
and Aiko Hayashi in Tokyo; Editing by Joseph Radford)