* Euro holds near 5-month high on dollar
* Dollar off lows vs yen, supported by intervention threat
By Charlotte Cooper and Masayuki Kitano
TOKYO, Sept 30 (Reuters) - The dollar struggled near the week's lows against the yen on Thursday although wariness of Japanese intervention lent it support, and it held near a five-month low on the euro, ground down by expectations of more Federal Reserve easing.
Hedge fund adviser Medley Global Advisors said in a report on Wednesday obtained by Reuters that the Bank of Japan was also preparing to ease monetary policy again given a downbeat survey of Japanese manufacturers and persistent yen strength.
The measures reported by Medley would be extensions of existing steps but the report comes as speculation is mounting that the BOJ could take action at its meeting ending next Tuesday, and a manager at a Japanese FX brokerage said that expectation lent the dollar a little support.
The manager also said options-related buying had helped the dollar inch up from a low of 83.50 yen on Wednesday. It was trading at 83.80 yen on Thursday, 1 yen above a 15-year low set just before Japan intervened to block its fall on Sept. 15.
"I think many market players probably think Japanese authorities will find it hard to intervene at current levels, especially since the latest moves have been of dollar weakness rather than yen strength," he said.
But wariness of intervention will grow if the dollar nears 83.00 yen, he said.
Thursday is also the last day of Japan's fiscal half-year and traders do not rule out last-minute dollar selling by Japanese exporters.
The dollar was also pinned at eight-month lows against a basket of currencies and stuck near its weakest levels since April against the euro.
The Fed has inched closer to fresh steps to aid the world's largest economy, but Fed officials disagreed on Wednesday on what should prompt more support and what impact more asset purchases could have.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would pressure China to let its currency rise faster, fanning the flames of a long-running dispute over trade and jobs.
A vote on the bill in the Senate is unlikely until after congressional elections on Nov. 2, but it illustrates a key issue in currency markets -- that many countries want weaker currencies to support their economies.
In the meantime the euro has gained against the dollar and the yen in part by default.
It is by no means problem-free itself, with the European Commission proposing steep compulsory deposits and fines for euro zone countries that breach budget rules and trade unions staging strikes and protests against austerity measures.
Analysts at UBS said in a client note that euro sovereign deficits continued to weigh on investors, and the expiry of European Central Bank liquidity operations on Thursday would be watched.
"But while there are near-term risks for the euro, continued discussion of further Fed easing could keep the euro supported," UBS's Brian Kim wrote.
The euro was flat on the day at $1.3626 after hitting a five-month high of $1.3647 on Wednesday.
It was steady at 114.09 yen after hitting a two-month high of 114.20 yen in the previous session.
The Australian dollar rose 0.1 percent to $0.9693, after climbing to $0.9730 on Wednesday, its highest since July 2008. (Editing by Michael Watson)