Yen, pound pressured; euro surprisingly resilient

One hundred Euro banknotes lay on top of various Swiss Franc notes in this picture illustration at a bank in Warsaw, July 18, 2011.

SYDNEY (Reuters) - The yen nursed losses in Asia on Thursday, having plumbed a 7-month low against the greenback, while sterling also struggled after minutes of the Bank of England February policy meeting were more dovish than expected.

All this helped the euro stay firm, even after PMI surveys on Wednesday suggested the euro zone might slide back into recession and amid lingering doubts over Greece's recently hard-won bailout deal.

The dollar stood at 80.30 yen, having risen to 80.406 -- highs not seen since July. It has gained nearly 6 percent from near 76.00 at the start of the month.

Part of the reason for the yen's weakness is the Bank of Japan's surprise easing last week and growing momentum as key support levels give way, spurring more selling in the Japanese currency.

The market also took aim at sterling after minutes of the BoE's policy meeting showed two officials sought a bigger increase this month in quantitative easing than was eventually agreed. This was seen as raising the chances of more asset-buying to support a fragile economy.

The pound fell broadly as a result. It slid to $1.5661, well off this week's high of $1.5880. On the yen, it declined to 125.81, from Wednesday's high around 126.55.

Weakness in the yen and sterling helped the dollar climb a modest 0.2 percent against a basket of major currencies .DXY. But capping the dollar index was a resilient euro, which held at $1.3245.

The single currency was still near a two-week high of $1.3292 set on Tuesday immediately after euro zone finance ministers agreed a 130-billion-euro ($172 billion) rescue for Greece.

On the yen, the single currency climbed to a three-month high around 106.56 and it hit a 2-month high of 84.60 pence.

"EURUSD remains fairly bid largely due to both the short squeeze seen in EUR crosses, particularly EURCAD, EURAUD, EURNZD and potentially reserve managers recycling their USD revenues into euros as oil prices rise," analysts at BNP Paribas wrote in a note.

"We could see further short covering in EUR crosses considering their drastic moves since November 2011. EURUSD will likely remain within a tight range with $1.3309, the 100-day moving average, seen as the next key level to test/break."

The generally firmer greenback saw commodity currencies come under a bit of pressure. Analysts said the rise in oil prices on worries over Iran's growing confrontation with the West has also raised worries about global growth, another reason weighing on commodity currencies.

The Australian dollar last traded at $1.0621, having plumbed a three-week low of $1.0605 overnight. Since hitting a six-month high of $1.0845 early in the month, the Aussie has shed about two percent.

"We suspect the downside risk is growing as the market has failed to make much impression on the $1.0845 high. Supports are 1.0607 (a minor support line) and then the $1.0517 2-month uptrend. This is now exposed," said Commerzbank strategist Karen Jones.

"A close below the $1.0517 uptrend is required to negate the upmove and confirm downside intent. This will see a slide to the 1.04045/1.0393 200-day moving average and 38.2 percent retracement of the move from December to February."

So far, the market has ignored a bitter leadership crisis for Australia's struggling minority government. No one seriously expects this will affect the country's economic outlook, which is heavily reliant on China's voracious demand for its resources.

There is little in the way of major economic data out of Asia on Thursday. In Europe, the closely watched German Ifo business climate is due later in the day.

(Reporting by Ian Chua; Editing by Richard Pullin)