* Euro breaks $1.3430, hits 10-month trough vs dollar * Hits 1.4232 Swiss francs before caution on SNB sets in * Germany signals support of European aid for Greece * But investors doubt quick Greece resolution at EU summit By Satomi Noguchi TOKYO, March 24 (Reuters) - The euro fell to an all-time lowagainst the Swiss franc on Wednesday after triggering a wave ofsell orders, and also hit a 10-month low on the dollar as doubtsthat any solution for Greece would be smooth kept it locked in adowntrend. Selling against the Swiss franc quickly lost momentum once ithit a record low of 1.4232 francs EURCHF=R, as traders grewwary that the Swiss National Bank may step in to slow its fall. Speculative accounts and a big German bank were said to havesold, setting off stops, before caution set in with talk that themarket could be getting quite short on euros which would make itvulnerable to a snap back if the SNB were to intervene. But a later wave of selling against the dollar plunged theeuro to $1.3403 EUR=, its lowest since early May, and itsmashed support at $1.3430 before buying linked to an optionsbarrier said to be at $1.3400 gave it a temporary floor. "The euro"s heaviness stems from concerns about the euro zonesystem -- whether it is functioning properly to back thecredibility of the single currency -- and this is an even biggerproblem than Greek debt woes," said a sales trader for a Japanesebank. The euro dropped 0.6 percent to $1.3416 EUR=. Traders saidthere had been stop-loss sell orders at $1.3430, which oncetriggered extended the euro"s losses in a downtrend that has seenit shed 6 percent against the dollar this year. EU leaders hold a summit on Thursday and Friday, and Germanyhas signalled for the first time that it may accept Europeanfinancial aid for Greece as a last resort. But it has pegged its support to several conditions,including the need for the International Monetary Fund to make a"substantial contribution". [ID:nLDE62M130] Analysts said uncertainty over aid for Greece, combined withlacklustre euro zone economic growth, could prevent the EuropeanCentral Bank from raising interest rates until well into nextyear, a prospect also likely to weigh the single currency down. "Be it the EU or the IMF, how either of them would rescueGreece remains uncertain. The euro looks set to trade defensivelyin the near term," said Masafumi Yamamoto, chief forex strategistat Barclays Capital in Tokyo. EURO/SWISS GIVES WAY The euro fell 0.2 percent on the day to 1.4246 francs. Dealers said the euro could eventually slide further, eventhough many expected the SNB would step in at some point, andsome reported loss-cutting sell orders down to just below 1.42. "The SNB will likely continue to intervene, but that will nowbe used to smooth levels rather than change them," Tsutomu Soma,senior manager at Okasan Securities in Tokyo. "At this rate, despite some rebounds, the pair looks to beheaded toward 1.40." The Swiss central bank is suspected of intervening in theforex market over the past year as part of its efforts to protectthe Swiss economy.<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ euro/Swiss, suspected intervention r.reuters.com/sud94j ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> SNB Chairman Philipp Hildebrand said on Tuesday it would keepfighting excessive appreciation of the franc to prevent deflationsurfacing, but analysts said it would probably shy away fromlarge-scale intervention as the economy recovered and it movedtowards normalisation of monetary policy. [ID:nLDE62M0D9] Against the yen, the euro dropped 0.5 percent to 121.60 yenEURJPY=R, and the Japanese currency edged up against thehigher-yielding Australian and New Zealand dollars. The greenback firmed 0.2 percent to 90.52 yen JPY= and onits broader index .DXY, a gauge of its performance against sixother major currencies, it rose 0.4 percent to 81.210, comingwithin sight of February"s eight-month high of 81.342. The New Zealand dollar dropped against the greenback afterdata showed the country"s annual current account deficit narrowedin the fourth quarter, but the improvement was not as strong asexpected. [ID:nSGE62K02P] The kiwi fell 0.3 percent to $0.7032 NZD=D4. (Additional reporting by Kaori Kaneko and Charlotte Cooper)
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