* Eur/dlr under pressure but support likely near $1.3500
* Euro around 17-mth low vs Swiss franc after SNB comments
* Dollar/yen sell orders likely lie at upper end of Y90
By Kaori Kaneko
TOKYO, March 19 (Reuters) - The euro stabilised but remainedunder pressure on Friday after Greece said it could not achievepromised deficit cuts if its borrowing costs remain so high.
But the country dismissed a report that it may turn to theIMF by April if European Union leaders do not agree on a rescueplan next week, calling aid from the global lender a last resort.[ID:nLDE62H0LL] [ID:nLDE62H1HZ]
"Although the euro is under pressure, it is unlikely to fallsharply at the moment as the EU has already agreed to helpGreece if needed, even though they did not provide details ofsuch a plan," said Jun Kato, senior chief analyst at ShinkinCentral Bank Research Institute.
The euro was up 0.1 percent at $1.3620 EUR=, having fallenas far as $1.3586 on trading platform EBS on Thursday. TheEuropean single currency has pulled back from a five-week highof $1.3819 hit on EBS earlier this week.
Near term support for the euro is seen around $1.3500 as thecurrency stayed above that level last week, traders said.
The European single currency also hovered around a 17-monthlow against the Swiss franc after Swiss National Bank boardmember Jean-Pierre Danthine said on Thursday that Swiss firmsand consumers should prepare for rising borrowing costs asinterest rates cannot stay ultralow forever. [ID:nLDE62H2EE]
Against the Swiss franc, the euro was steady at 1.4405francs EURCHF= after falling as far as 1.4355 francs on EBS onThursday, its weakest level since October 2008.
The dollar was seen supported against the yen by the regularcommercial needs of Japanese firms on every fifth day of themonth and before a three-day weekend in Japan, but the upper endof 90 yen was capped by heavy sell orders, traders said.
The euro was up 0.1 percent at 123.19 yen EURJPY=R, whilethe dollar rose 0.1 percent to 90.45 yen JPY=.
In addition to dollar offers from Japanese exporters beforethe end of the month, overseas demand for the yen linked toJapan"s biggest IPO offering in 12 years from Dai-ichi LifeInsurance next month is seen behind the yen"s strength, said aforex sales manager for a Japanese trust bank. [ID:nTOE62705S]
Higher-yielding currencies such as the Australian dollarretained strength on firm global stocks. Moderate gains in Asianstocks .N225 .MIAPJ0000PUS came after the Dow JonesIndustrial average .DJI rose for an eight straight session.
"Currencies of countries with resources such as the Aussieand the Canadian dollar gaining support as global stocks havebeen basically firm," said a trader at a Japanese bank.
"We may see some profit-taking in those currencies but theyare likely to remain firm," he said.
The Aussie rose 0.1 percent to $0.9209 AUD=D4, in sight ofeight-week high of $0.9253 hit this week. Against the yen, theAussie advanced 0.2 percent to 83.27 yen AUDJPY=R.
Against the Canadian dollar, the greenback was up 0.1percent at C$1.0148 CAD=D4 but not far from a 20-month low ofC$1.0071 touched on Wednesday.
Traders say the pair may hit parity in the near term onspeculation that Canadian interest rates may soon rise. Themarket awaits Canadian consumer inflation data for February andretail sales for January due later in the day. ECONCA (Additional reporting by Satomi Noguchi; Editing by EdwinaGibbs)
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