French President Francois Hollande said on Monday countries including Spain and Greece had paid a heavy price to stay in the euro and it was "up to the Greeks" to decide whether to now remain a part of the single currency.

His comment in an interview with France Inter radio came in reaction to a media report at the weekend that said the German government believed the euro zone would now be able to cope with Greece leaving the euro.

Germany's economy minister later said Germany wanted Greece to remain in the euro zone and there were no plans to the contrary.

"As for Greece remaining in the euro zone, Greece alone can decide," Hollande said.

"At this time we should not hypothesize about whether, according to the Greek vote, they would not or would still be a member of the euro zone. The Greeks are free to determine their own destiny."

The question of Greece's continued membership in the euro zone has come into focus ahead of the Jan. 25 parliamentary election that left-wing opposition party Syriza, which has promised to end austerity policies if elected, is seen winning.

Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras said in December his party would ask Europe to erase a big portion of its debt.

Hollande, whose Socialist government has criticised Germany's emphasis on budgetary discipline, said: "Europe cannot continue to be identified by austerity."

Austria's chancellor Werner Faymann said later on Monday that Greece would choose its own government, adding that he had no doubt Greece would stick to its commitments as it had done in the past.

"The Greek people have the right to elect a parliament and a government the way they think it right," Faymann told ORF television.

The euro tumbled to near a nine-year low on Monday, undercut by growing concerns that Greek parliamentary elections will result in a left-wing government that will aim to cancel austerity measures along with a big portion of Greece's debt.

The left-wing Syriza party holds a narrowing lead ahead of Greece's Jan. 25 general election over the conservative New Democracy party, opinion polls show. New Democracy imposed unpopular budget cuts under Greece's bailout deal.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman said on Monday that her government was interested in stabilizing the euro bloc and retaining all of its members, including Greece.

Expectations for monetary policy easing in the euro zone, the opposite of a trend toward tightening policy in the United States, also cast a pall over the euro.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, hit a nine-year high of 91.775 before setting back to 91.507, up 0.47 percent on the day.

"Markets expected further euro weakness this year and now with worries on the rise about Greece, that has compounded euro bearishness," said Joe Manimbo, senior market analyst at Western Union Business Solutions in Washington, DC.

The euro traded as low as $1.18605 on the EBS trading platform in early Asian trade before steadying at $1.19275, a loss of 0.62 percent.

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