Dollar within sight of record low vs euro

TOKYO, Apr 26 (Reuters) The dollar remained within sight of its record low against the euro on Thursday as it struggled in the wake of mixed U.S. data that did little to allay market concerns about a slowdown in the U.S. economy.

The dollar fell to within a whisker of its record low against the euro on Wednesday after softer-than-expected U.S. housing data contrasted with a strong reading on business sentiment in the euro zone.

It struggled despite a surprisingly strong reading on U.S.

durable goods orders.

''There wasn't any decisive factor to alter views that the U.S. economy is slowing down. I don't think there was anything to alter a bearish market trend against the dollar,'' said a trader for a Japanese bank.

In contrast with the mixed U.S. indicators on Wednesday, euro zone data showed German business sentiment surged close to a record high in April.

''This confirms that Europe's economy is solid and will support euro buying. I think the euro will make a try for $1.37,'' the Japanese bank trader said.

The euro stood at $1.3636 as of 2337 GMT, steady from late U.S. trading on Wednesday.

The single European currency had climbed as high as $1.3667 on electronic trading platform EBS on Wednesday, just shy of the currency's all-time peak at $1.3670.

The dollar slipped slightly to 118.61 yen compared to around 118.75 yen in late New York trading.

The New Zealand dollar stood at $0.7440 down from Wednesday's high of $0.7490, near a 22-year peak of $0.7493 struck last week.

It slipped after the central bank raised interest rates by a quarter of a point to 7.75 percent on Thursday but warned that the currency was at ''exceptionally and unjustifiably high levels''.

While no major Japanese economic indicators are due on Thursday, a rush of data is due on Friday including consumer prices, and the Bank of Japan will hold a policy meeting and issue its twice-yearly report on its outlook for the economy.

The BOJ is widely expected to keep rates unchanged at 0.50 percent on Friday, but traders will be focusing on the data and the outlook report to gauge the possible timing of its next rate rise, which many now expect in the second half of this year.

REUTERS DKS BST0545