FOREX-Euro on the skids, pound punctured by politics

* Euro and pound under pressure

* Greek worries hurt euro, political uncertainty hits pound

By Anirban Nag

SYDNEY, April 16 (Reuters) - The euro was on the backfoot on Friday, as scepticism about Greece servicing its debt kept it under pressure, while the pound headed lower in early trade on the back of growing worres about a hung parliament in Britain.

The euro dropped to $1.3565, from around $1.3575 late on Thursday when it fell to as low as $1.3520, its lowest in about a week, according to Reuters data.

It was down at 126.15 yen , having lost nearly 0.8 percent on Thursday, as investors fled to the relative safety of the yen after the cost of insuring against a Greek default rose and the Greek/German government bond yield spread widened to near record levels.

"I think the sovereign issues along with lack of growth in the euro zone will undermine investor confidence in the euro," said Richard Grace, chief currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank, Sydney.

"We have a year-end target for the the euro at $1.30 and then slightly below that by the start of next year."

The euro has lost more than 5 percent against the U.S. dollar since the start of the year as investors sold the single currency in droves on worries that Greece would default on its debt obligations.

Although European officials agreed on Sunday to make available 30 billion euros in loans and a further 15 billion coming from the International Monetary Fund, there are questions on how the rescue package would be implemented.

Also, weighing on the euro were reports indicating that the U.S. roadshow to sell Greek sovereign debt was getting a tepid response.

Fears of contagian rose as the cost of insuring against a Portuguese default hit its highest since February, after the European Commission on Wednesday said the country may need additional fiscal cuts this year.

The pound took a hit in early trade as the possibility about a hung parliament grew after the heads of Britain's two main political parties were bested by the Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg. [ID:nLAC005697].

Sterling fell to $1.5458, from $1.5495 late in New York on Thursday when it gained nearly 0.2 percent.

The dollar index <.DXY>, which tracks the greenback versus a basket of major currencies, was up 0.09 percent at 80.55, recovering from a four-week low of 80.031 hit on Wednesday. It faces some decent resistance in the 80.75 area.

The dollar found support after the Treasury Department said foreign purchases of U.S. securities rose in February as strong private sector demand helped reverse an overall capital outflow suffered during the prior month.

The dollar edged up on the yen to 93.13 yen , from 93.02 yen late in New York on Thursday. Markets will eye a number of toushin launches on Friday as these could put some downward pressure on the yen, especially on the crosses, traders said.

(Editing by Wayne Cole)