* Aussie dollar hits 4-month high on solid jobs data (Adds quote, updates prices, changes byline)

By Wanfeng Zhou

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The yen hovered near a 15-yearhigh against the dollar Thursday as conflicting messagesfrom policymakers led investors to bet Japanese authoritieswere not ready to intervene to weaken their currency.

The euro fell against the dollar and yen as concerns aboutthe health of the European banking sector and sovereign debtissues persisted.

Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said his ministrywas conducting simulations on forex intervention. But hiscomments were somewhat undermined after Bank of Japan GovernorMasaaki Shirakawa said he did not discuss currencies andmonetary policy at a government meeting.

Analysts expect the yen to stay firm in the coming monthsas uncertainties about the outlook for the United States andglobal economies prompt investors to seek safety. Analysts donot expect Japan to intervene until the dollar falls near 80yen.

"We saw the continued differences in opinion between theMinistry of Finance and the Bank of Japan," said MatthewStrauss, senior currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets inToronto.

Comments by the BOJ governor were "seen by the market as asign they're not going to intervene in the near future,"Strauss said. "The momentum is still favoring a stronger yen."

In afternoon trading in New York, the dollar was downslightly at 83.85 yen. It earlier hit a session low of83.49, according to electronic trading platform EBS, withinsight of the 15-year low of 83.34 yen hit on EBS Wednesday.

Options traders said there was good demand for yen calls inthe 1-month to 2-month bracket, but yen puts were more popularin shorter dates, suggesting investors are hedging their betsabout possible intervention.

Traders expect the yen to weaken if Japanese authoritiesintervene, though longer term investors point to the failure ofrecent Swiss national bank intervention to stifle the franc'sstrength.

"Markets try always to move to what we have called 'theobscene number' before turning around, and given that theall-time high for the yen is just below 80, it seems reasonableto assume that we shall at least visit that level beforeturning in the other direction," said analyst Dennis Gartman.

EURO ZONE WORRIES

The euro was last down 0.2 percent at $1.2696Against the yen, the euro fell 0.2 percent to 106.50, afterhitting a session low of 105.98 yen moving closer toa nine-year low of 105.41 yen hit in late August.

The euro's weakness came despite a slight increase in riskappetite, which got a boost after better-than-expected U.S.data on the U.S. jobs market and trade activity raised hopesthe economic recovery would accelerate.

"The dollar is holding its own, especially against theeuro, more as a result of the continued concerns in Europeregarding the sovereign debt issues," RBC's Strauss said.

Traders said the euro came under pressure after failing toconvincingly break resistance at $1.2760.

"Confidence is evaporating in the euro zone banking system,particularly for Portugal, Ireland and Greece, and supportingthe system will require government debt to rise tounsustainable levels. That is what the market is concernedabout," said Lee Hardman, currency economist at Bank ofTokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ in London.

The Australian dollar extended gains as a barrier was takenout at $0.9250, hitting a four-month high on strong jobs dataand rising speculation of a rate rise. The Aussie dollar waslast up 0.5 percent at 0.9235. (Additional reporting by Nick Olivari; Editing by PadraicCassidy)