(Corrects 1st paragraph to ... well below ..., not well above. Also, in 5th paragraph, changes ... pared its gains, not losses)
* Yen falls broadly as regional shares rally
* Limited impact from worse-than-expected BOJ tankan
* Focus on fate of U.S. automakers, share prices
By Masayuki Kitano
TOKYO, Dec 15 (Reuters) - The yen was steady against the dollar on Monday, staying well below 13-year highs hit last week as a rally in regional shares pointed to some recovery in risk appetite and curbed demand for the yen.
The yen rallied on Friday to as high as 88.10 yen per dollar on trading platform EBS, its highest since 1995, after the U.S. Senate rejected a $14 billion auto rescue plan.
The Senate decision pummelled stock markets, stoked worries about a decline in risk appetite and gave a boost to the yen on Friday.
But the yen later fell back, partly because market players became mindful of risks that Japanese authorities could intervene to curb sharp rises in the yen.
The yen initially edged higher against the dollar on Monday, but pared its gains as Tokyo shares rallied more than 4 percent after relief over a possible lifeline for the struggling U.S. auto industry lifted Wall Street.
"Share prices are all positive starting with Australian shares," said a trader for a European bank.
Demand for foreign currencies against the yen from players including Japanese importers was also weighing on the Japanese currency, the trader said.
The dollar was steady against the yen from late U.S. trading on Friday at 91.09 yen, having trimmed some losses after falling to 90.49 yen on trading platform EBS earlier on Monday morning.
The yen fell against higher-yielding currencies, with the euro rising 0.6 percent against the yen to 122.50 yen, and the Australian and New Zealand dollars also rose against the yen.
The single European currency rose as high as $1.3463 on EBS, the highest in nearly two months. It later trimmed some gains to stand at $1.3450, up 0.6 percent on the day.
The Bush administration said on Friday it could be willing to provide emergency aid to the teetering U.S. auto industry, keeping open the prospects for a bailout a day after Congress failed to approve a deal.
There was limited reaction to the Bank of Japan's tankan business sentiment survey, market players said.
The headline index for big manufacturers' sentiment fell to a nearly seven-year low of minus 24, down from minus 3 in the previous survey in September and just below economists' median forecast of minus 23.
"Market players knew the numbers would be bad. The part regarding the outlook is not good ... but equities are not reacting to it," said the trader for a European bank, adding that the rise in share prices was triggering buying of higher-yielding currencies against the yen.
Equities are regarded as a barometer of investors' appetite for risky carry trades, in which investors sell low-yielding currencies like the yen to invest in higher-yielding currencies and assets. (Editing by Michael Watson)