* Yen firm, seen testing Japan's willingness to intervene
* Dwindling U.S.-Japan yield gap seen hurting dollar
* Aussie braces for retail sales data
* Euro hits record low against Swiss franc
By Hideyuki Sano
TOKYO, Aug 31 (Reuters) - The yen clung near a 15-year high against the dollar on Tuesday after the Bank of Japan's easing steps the previous day failed to scare investors from betting on it rising further.
With mounting U.S. economic worries seen keeping investors shunning risk assets such as high-yielding currencies, the market is likely to push up the low-yielding yen, testing the willingness of Japanese authorities to intervene.
"If share prices fail to rise, that could lead to selling in the cross yen, which would put pressure on the dollar/yen," said Nobuhiko Akai, senior manager of forex trading at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.
"The dollar/yen might test the previous low (of 83.58 hit last week) by the end of this week," Akai said.
The dollar changed hands at 84.58 yen, about a full yen above the 15-year low of 83.58 hit last week. It fell 0.7 percent on Monday as investors took profits after the Bank of Japan announced its decision to expand a cheap funding programme.
The yen showed no reaction to a series of Japanese data, including better-than-expected readings in industrial output and retail sales.
As the dollar/yen has had a strong correlation with the yield gap between the United States and Japan in recent months, a sharp fall in U.S. Treasuries on Monday also weighed on the dollar.
U.S. Treasuries prices jumped on Monday, with 30-year bond prices rising two full points, recovering from a sharp sell-off on Friday.
The euro/yen fell 0.2 percent to 106.80 yen after having fallen nearly 2 yen on Monday.
Fresh selling in the euro against the Swiss franc on Tuesday pushed the pair to a record low of 1.2959 francs, as investors put funds to what is often considered a safe-haven currency.
Against the dollar, the euro fell 0.2 percent to $1.2637, not far from a low of $1.2588 hit a week ago.
Some traders say recent rises in spreads of sovereign CDS in some euro zone countries, such as Ireland and Italy, are rekindling fears about the euro zone's debt problems, which pushed the single currency to a four-year low early this year.
The Australian dollar fetched $0.8910, with traders looking to a series of Australian data releases, including retail sales figures, at 0130 GMT. July sales are expected to have risen 0.4 percent compared to 0.2 percent in June. (Editing by Michael Watson)