* Dollar near 15-year lows vs yen, seen vulnerable
* Euro eases on banking sector concerns
* Aussie hits 4-month high on solid jobs data
(Adds quotes, updates prices, changes dateline prvs TOKYO)
By Tamawa Desai
LONDON, Sept 9 (Reuters) - The dollar neared a 15-year low versus the yen on Thursday as traders bet Japanese authorities were not yet ready to intervene in the currency market, while the euro was pressured by banking sector concerns.
Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said on Thursday the ministry was conducting simulations on forex intervention, but the yen hardly budged as the perception remains that Japan is unlikely to intervene until the dollar falls near 80 yen.
His comments were also undermined as Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said he did not talk about currencies and monetary policy at a government meeting.
By 0735 GMT, the dollar slipped 0.2 percent on the day to 83.69 yen, closing in on a 15-year low of 83.34 yen struck on trading platform EBS on Wednesday.
"The market feels like it wants to test the resolve of Japan's MoF, but at the same time is inclined to take out insurance through the options market just in case the MoF does in fact take the bait," Daragh Maher, deputy head of FX strategy at Credit Agricole CIB, said in a note.
Options traders say shorter-dated yen puts are in demand. The one-week dollar/yen risk-reversal, the premium required to hold a put or a call, trades marginally in favour of yen puts, traders say.
Wariness about intervention lifted the dollar briefly in early trade but it failed to sustain a rise above 84 yen, its five-day moving average.
Many traders think it is only a matter of time before the dollar falls below that level, with talk of options barriers at 83.00 yen and then 82.50 yen.
The euro eased below $1.2700 as investors focused on comments late on Wednesday from European Central Bank Executive Board member Juergen Stark, who told a meeting of German lawmakers that German banks were undercapitalised, according to a participant.
"Confidence is evaporating in the euro zone banking system, particularly for Portugal, Ireland and Greece, and supporting the system will require government debt to rise to unsustainable levels. That is what the market is concerned about," said Lee Hardman, currency economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.
Bids were seen at $1.2680 and $1.2630, while options with a strike price of $1.2600 were set to expire later in the day, traders said.
AUSSIE GAINS
The Australian dollar jumped to a four-month high of $0.9237 after strong jobs data, breaking above $0.92 resistance.
The Aussie also hit a record high against the euro beyond A$1.3800 per euro but it made little progress against the yen as yen bulls used the cross instead of dollar/yen to bet on further gains in the Japanese currency.
The Canadian dollar kept Wednesday's hefty gains at C$1.0380 per dollar after the central bank raised its benchmark interest rate.
"The direction of monetary policy is completely the opposite between the United States and countries like Australia and Canada. So currencies like the Aussie and the Canadian dollar will tend to be favoured," said Koichi Yoshikawa, head of FX trading at BNP Paribas.
The Bank of England will deliver its policy verdict later in the day. It is expected to keep rates at 0.5 percent and refrain from increasing its asset buying programme. The pound traded at $1.5423, off a 1-1/2 month low of $1.5296 on Tuesday.
(Additional reporting by Hideyuki Sano in Tokyo)