TOKYO - The dollar remained under pressure in Asian trade Wednesday after major emerging economies cast doubt on the greenback's long-term future as the world's main reserve currency, dealers said.

The dollar fell to 96.37 yen in Tokyo by the lunch break from 96.42 in New York late Tuesday. The euro dropped to $1.3825 from $1.3838 and to 133.25 yen from 133.45.

"The Japanese yen will likely remain strong in Asian hours," said Masatsugu Miyata, a forex dealer at Hachijuni Bank.

The dollar lost ground overnight in New York after leaders from the world's top emerging economies delivered a warning shot on the domination of the US dollar as their new forum flexed its muscle at a first summit.

The leaders of the so-called BRIC nations -- Brazil, Russia, India and China -- called for a "more diversified" currency system after a meeting that came as talk continues over the dollar's future as the global reserve unit.

In Tokyo morning trade the dollar briefly dipped below 96 yen for the first time in about two weeks, also driven down by struggling US share prices.

The European single currency also dropped against the yen on growing risk aversion which encourages buying of the safe-haven Japanese currency.

"The euro is unwinding against the yen, after the Japanese currency was earlier sold off," Miyata said.

"For the longer term, this trend of buying the yen over the greenback may not last. I don't think investors are buying the currency with so much confidence."

Dealers expected the dollar-yen rate to be volatile in Asian trade.

"It's hard to identify any near-term trend in Japanese stocks and the market's views are increasingly mixed," said Nikko Cordial strategist Tsuyoshi Kawata.