* Dollar rebound from lows runs out of steam
* Market players brace for surprises from payrolls, G7
* Yen near 15-year high, intervention fear eases slightly
By Hideyuki Sano
TOKYO, Oct 8 (Reuters) - The dollar came under pressure again
on Friday, losing some ground made from a bout of profit-taking
on other currencies ahead of U.S. jobs data and Group of Seven
(G7) and IMF meetings later in the week.
The Japanese yen held near its 15-year peak against the
dollar as traders are starting to feel that Japan may not
intervene for now -- at least not as aggressively as it did last
month -- to keep the yen's gains in check.
"There's speculation that, if the G7 wants a coordinated
stance to put pressure on China to raise the yuan, then it
becomes more difficult for Japan to intervene," said a dealer at
a Japanese brokerage house.
Many market players think expectations of quantitative easing
by the Fed will keep pushing the dollar lower, even though some
traders were turning cautious, on the chance that surprise
strength in U.S. payroll data could set that scenario back.
Data on Thursday showed U.S. initial jobless claims hit a
three-month low, although their four-week average, considered a
gauge of their underlying trend, is showing no signs of a
significant decline from recent levels. []
The payroll data could change investor sentiment as
stubbornly high unemployment is a major reason the market thinks
the Fed will act.
But many market players also said a single month of strong
job growth is unlikely to dispel expectations of more easing.
"If non-farm payrolls data improves and the unemployment rate
decreases then the dollar may recover for several days but that
won't change the big picture of low inflation," said Masafumi
Yamamoto, chief Japan FX strategist at Barclays.
"Ahead of the FOMC meeting (on Nov. 3) the dollar's recovery
is likely to be very temporary."
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For graphic on payrolls http://link.reuters.com/nem47p
For PDF on "currency war" http://r.reuters.com/dyw27p
FX tensions interactive map http://r.reuters.com/jec96p
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Markets are also wary that the G7 and IMF meetings starting
on Friday may produce a surprise in the way of a coordinated
front on currencies, as calls have mounted for global efforts to
avoid competitive currency devaluations.
WARINESS OVER PAYROLLS
This wariness helped to knock the euro off an eight-month
high of $1.4030 hit on the EBS platform on Thursday, though the
euro resumed its uptick in Asian trade to mark $1.3945 <EUR=>, up
0.1 percent on the day.
The dollar index against a basket of six currencies slipped
0.1 percent to 77.35 <=USD> <.DXY>, edging towards an 8-