The euro hit a record high against the Japanese yen today as Group of Seven finance officials opted not to comment on the weak Japanese currency.
The G7 repeated its call for exchange rates to reflect economic fundamentals, and cited China again by name in calling for greater currency flexibility, using the exact same wording in its communique as after its February meeting in Germany.
The euro was up 0.2 percent at 161.71 yen after easing back from a 162.43 yen record high since the single currency was launched in 1999.
The single currency gave up some of its gains on profit taking by Japanese investors after it repeatedly scaled all-time peaks over the past week, traders said.
The euro edged up to a two-year high against the US dollar at around $1.3575 compared with $1.3530 and was approaching the all-time high of $1.3670 struck in December 2004.
The dollar rose to its highest since late February of 119.72 yen before briefly dipping below 119.00 yen. The US currency traded around 119.35 yen, up 0.1 percent.
Some traders said if government officials keep quiet about post-G7 market reaction, there may be more room for the euro to climb versus the yen while European players could start their day by also dumping the dollar against the single currency.
Against the euro, some analysts cautioned that the single currency has already reached a psychologically important level around 162.40/50 yen, equivalent to the German mark's peak in October 1998 when adjusted by the euro conversion rate.