* The yen remains near 15-year high vs dollar
* Euro in sight of 9-yr low against the yen
* Aussie hits 4-month high on solid jobs data
(Recasts, adds quote, updates prices)
By Nick Olivari
NEW YORK, Sept 9 (Reuters) - The yen hovered near a 15-year high against the dollar on Thursday as conflicting messages from Japanese policymakers led investors to bet Japan's authorities were not ready to intervene.
The dollar briefly pared losses against the yen after U.S. initial weekly jobless claims fell to their lowest level in two months and a separate report showed the U.S. international trade deficit narrowed more than expected in July. and.
But while both reports eased concerns about the pace of the U.S. economic recovery, the main focus lay on Japan and to a lesser extent problems in the euro zone banking system.
Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said on Thursday his ministry was conducting simulations on forex intervention, but the yen hardly budged as the market still thinks Japan is unlikely to intervene until the dollar falls near 80 yen.
Noda's comments were also somewhat undermined after Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said he did not discuss currencies and monetary policy at a government meeting.
Traders expect the yen to weaken if japanese authorities intervene though longer term investors point to the failure of a recent Swiss national bank intervention to stifle the franc's strength.
"Markets try always to move to what we have called "the obscene number" before turning around and given that the
"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 in London.
The Australian dollar extended gains as a barrier was taken out at $0.9250, hitting a four-month high on strong jobs data and rising speculation of a rate rise.
The Australian dollar was last up 0.8 percent at 0.9256. (Additional reporting by Neal Armstrong in London) (Reporting by Nick Olivari; Editing by Andrew Hay)