TOKYO, Aug 24 (Reuters) The yen steadied against the dollar and euro on Friday, supported by persis

TOKYO, Aug 24 (Reuters) The yen steadied against the dollar and euro on Friday, supported by persistent fears that losses linked to the U.S. subprime mortgage woes could cause more market turmoil.

The yen fell in the last two sessions as easing global credit concerns prompted speculators to dump long yen positions piled up last week, when unwinding of risky trades financed by borrowing at low Japanese interest rates boosted the Japanese currency.

News earlier this week that Bank of America Corp would invest $2 billion in troubled U.S. mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp helped soothe financial markets' credit jitters.

But concerns returned after Countrywide Chief Executive Angelo Mozilo said on Thursday that the slumping housing market could drag the U.S. economy into recession.

''Market participants fear nothing has fundamentally changed in the problem that started from the subprime mortgage woes,'' said a trader at a Japanese trust bank.

In early Asian trade, the dollar was steady from Thursday's late U.S. trade at 116.20 yen The dollar fell from the previous day's session high of 117.15 yen but stayed well above a 14-month low of 111.60 yen struck on electronic trading platform EBS last Friday.

The euro dipped to 157.50 yen from around 157.60 yen in late New York.

The euro barely budged against the dollar at $1.3560 REUTERS AK BST0612