* Yen at post-intervention lows, euro/yen at 10-mo high
* Japan repatriation expectations seen overstated
* Fed seen lagging ECB in rate hike (Updates prices, adds quotes)
By Julie Haviv
NEW YORK, March 29 (Reuters) - The yen slid to post-intervention lows on Tuesday and analysts anticipate more losses if the spread between U.S. and Japanese yields continues to widen and if repatriation flows into Japan fail to emerge.
The two-year U.S. Treasury yield rose to 0.81 percent, eight basis points above Friday's close and up 18 basis points in six days, widening its gap over comparable Japanese yields.
The wider spread helped the dollar reached its highest levels against the yen since March 18, when the Bank of Japan and other major central banks intervened to stop runaway yen gains.
"While there are no obvious catalysts for the yen's moves, we suspect that the combination of recent equity market resilience and higher U.S. Treasury yields is weighing on the Japanese currency," said Vassili Serebriakov, currency strategist at Wells Fargo Bank in New York.
The dollar rose to 82.48 yen while the euro was last at 116.08 yen, a 10-month high.
"There are a lot of yen negatives right now," said Steven Englander, head of G10 strategy at CitiFX in New York.
"First, the rate differential between U.S. and Japanese yields has widened, working in the dollar's favor," he said. "Second, it is becoming increasingly clear that repatriation flows (to Japan) are not panning out and if anything will be limited."
The yen hit a record high against the dollar during the week following Japan's massive earthquake and tsunami, largely due to expectations investors would repatriate funds from overseas back into Japan.
CitiFX said there are several reasons why repatriation flows should be limited, one of which is that Japanese households are still accumulating foreign assets.
Japanese firms also appear to have enough funds to deal with the costs of rebuilding.
"Life insurance companies can cope with payments because of their cash holdings. Casualty insurance companies may encounter some difficulty but government reinsurance should cover the payments," the firm said in a research note.
Also, pension funds and retail investors need not raise yen cash and repatriate.
"Japanese banks will meet huge loan demand in the area, whereas the government is to increase JGB issuance. The BOJ (Bank of Japan) will be obliged to embark upon further monetary easing," the firm said.
CitiFX said this policy mix could be negative for the yen in the medium and long run.
FED SEEN LAGGING ECB
The dollar rose against the euro early on Tuesday after St. Louis Federal Reserve bank President James Bullard told an audience in Prague the U.S. economy was strong enough to curtail the Fed's $600 billion bond-buying program by $100 billion.
The program, aimed at keeping interest rates low to bolster the economy, has been widely deemed a bane for the dollar on views it is tantamount to printing money.
But the dollar's gains versus the single currency were short lived, as many expect the European Central Bank to tighten policy well before the Fed.
The euro hit a session low of $1.4060 on the EBS trading platform after falling through reported bids at $1.4080. It last traded nearly unchanged at $1.4084.
The euro has retreated from a 4 1/2-month high of $1.4249 hit last week, but has been supported on the view the ECB may raise interest rates at its next policy meeting on April 7.
The $1.40 level is supported by a trendline drawn from the low below $1.30 hit in January, while the euro's 21-day moving average stands just above that level, at around $1.4006.
On the upside, heavy options-related barriers around $1.4250 were expected to cap gains. A break of that level may see a test of the November high of $1.4283. (Additional reporting by Jessica Mortimer in London; Editing by Andrea Ricci)