Yen firm in Asia on Ukraine tensions

TOKYO: The yen held firm in Asia Monday as jittery investors watched the latest developments in the Ukraine crisis, while awaiting meetings of the US and Japanese central banks this week.

In afternoon Tokyo trading, the dollar was changing hands at 102.17 yen against 102.19 yen in New York late Friday, while the euro inched down to 141.23 yen from 141.36 yen. Traders tend to move into the safe-haven yen during times of turmoil or uncertainty.

The European single currency slipped to $1.3824 from $1.3832.In Ukraine pro-Russian militants in the country presented a captured team of international observers as "prisoners of war" Sunday, raising the stakes in the crisis as US president Barack Obama warned Moscow against "provocation".

He said Russia had "not lifted a finger" to implement a peace deal struck in Geneva on April 17 to ease the crisis, adding that Moscow faced "consequences, and those consequences will continue to grow".

Obama and his Western allies are planning a new round of sanctions against Moscow that could be introduced as early as Monday.