LONDON — The euro fell against the dollar on Monday amid concerns over Europe's banking sector ahead of a key announcement this week on Ireland's bailout for Anglo Irish bank, analysts said. Traders also mulled possible further credit easing in the United States and intervention by Japanese authorities to cool the yen. In morning trading in London, the euro dropped to 1.3443 dollars from 1.3488 dollars late on Friday in New York. In Asian trading, the euro hit 1.3495 dollars, a level it struck on Friday for the first time for five months. In London, the dollar dipped to 84.19 yen from 84.20 yen on Friday. The price of gold struck a record high of 1,300.15 dollars an ounce, improving on a peak of 1,300.07 dollars reached on Friday. The precious metal has been breaking records in recent week as the so-called 'safe-haven' investment benefits from uncertainty regarding the economic recovery. Meanwhile "lingering concerns about the health of the European banking sector seem to be a drag on the euro," said Citi analyst Valentin Marinov. "Markets remain somewhat uneasy ahead of the announcement of the Irish government's costs for bailing out Anglo Irish bank on Friday." The Irish government denied on Monday that it had held weekend crisis talks ahead of an announcement expected this week about a final estimate for bailing out the state-owned Anglo Irish Bank. Media reports said senior ministers had been "locked" in talks on Sunday in advance of spelling out a plan for Anglo, the lender at the centre of Ireland's property crash. "I don't know where that came from," said a spokesman for Finance Minister Brian Lenihan. "There is nothing to that." Meanwhile against the Japanese currency, the dollar was range-bound due to speculation that Japanese monetary authorities may move for another yen-selling operation, said Mizuho Corporate Bank market economist Daisuke Karakama. "It is stuck in a narrow range, with the possibility of Fed credit-easing blocking rises (of the dollar) and possible intervention on the downside," he said. On Friday, Japanese authorities declined to comment on speculation they had again intervened in currency markets to weaken the yen after the unit fell sharply against the dollar in volatile Tokyo trade. Tokyo stepped into the currency markets on September 15 for the first time since 2004 in a bid to stem a strong yen after it hit a 15-year high of 82.86 against the dollar. A strong yen hurts Japanese exporters. The pound was meanwhile mixed as the market awaited British official economic growth data on Tuesday. In London on Monday, the euro changed hands at 1.3443 dollars against 1.3488 dollars late in New York on Friday, at 113.19 yen (113.58), 0.8499 pounds (0.8524) and 1.3241 Swiss francs (1.3282). The dollar stood at 84.19 yen (84.20) and 0.9850 Swiss francs (0.9846). The pound was at 1.5816 dollars (1.5822). On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold climbed to 1,298.05 dollars an ounce from 1,297 dollars an ounce late on Friday.

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