* USDJPY rises to highest level since July 2011 * Importers buying dollars, stops triggered above 80.41 yen * Euro hits 2-1/2 mth high vs dlr on short covering rally By Nia Williams LONDON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - The yen fell to a 7-1/2 month low against the dollar on Friday, pressured by reported selling from Japanese importers, although traders warned that rock-bottom U.S. government bond yields may slow the pace of any further gains. The euro also rose against the yen, and extended a surge to 10-week highs against the dollar due to better-than-expected German data on Thursday which led investors to close some bets on losses for the single currency. So far this month the dollar has rallied around 5 percent against the yen, helped by monetary easing from the Bank of Japan, Japan's shrinking current account surplus, exacerbated by rising crude oil prices. The country has relied heavily on oil and gas imports - which it must pay for in dollars - since nearly all its nuclear reactors went offline following the Fukushima nuclear crisis last year. The greenback rose to a session high of 80.71 yen, pulling further away from the 2012 low of 76.03 hit on Feb. 1. Short-term players triggered weak stop loss orders above Wednesday's peak of 80.41, helping the dollar break above a major chart resistance point of 80.42 yen, which is the 50 percent retracement of its fall from the 2011 high around 85.50 yen to the all-time low of 75.31 yen. Some analysts said the rapid pace of gains was likely to slow given U.S. Treasury yields, which traditionally have a strong correlation with moves in dollar/yen, are still fairly low. Those yields are seen remaining capped due to the Federal Reserve's pledge to keep rates exceptionally low until at least 2014. "Traders are talking about a move to 82 yen, but the interesting thing will be to see what happens after that. U.S. yields have not really justified the move," said Geoff Kendrick, FX analyst at Nomura. "But as long as we do not get any weak U.S. data, and we do not have anything until ISM next week, dollar/yen can keep grinding higher." The euro rose 1 percent against the yen to a fresh 3-1/2 month high of 107.98, more than 10 yen off this year's low of 97.04 yen hit on Jan. 16. SURPRISINGLY RESILIENT Against the dollar the euro extended hefty gains made a day earlier after an improved German Ifo business sentiment survey triggered a short covering rally - where players give up on bets that the currency will weaken. Market players said the euro rally had good momentum after it broke through the 100-day moving average around $1.3306 on Thursday, and took out a reported option barrier at $1.34 in early European trade on Friday. Technical analysts said the next level of resistance was around $1.3434, the 50 percent retracement of the euro's October to January slide from near $1.4250 to around $1.2620. The euro was last up 0.2 percent on the day at $1.3392, just off a session high of $1.3402. Although the Ifo data raised hopes growth the euro zone's largest economy was picking up, the European Commission warned the currency bloc could be heading for another recession as the debt crisis dragged on, clouding the longer-term outlook for the euro. "Technicals suggest that the euro may gain more in the coming days, but looking at the largely unresolved problems in Europe, would anyone seriously want to go long euro?" said Teppei Ino, currency analyst at Bank of Mitsubishi Tokyo UFJ. The European Central Bank is expected to lend nearly 500 billion euros of funds to banks next week in its second long-term, low-rate refinancing operation. Some analysts said the funds were likely to boost the euro and risk appetite, but the extra liquidity would put the currency under pressure in coming months. The Australian dollar rose to $1.0728, marking a gain of 0.2 percent on the day, after the Reserve Bank of Australia governor said monetary policy was broadly neutral, stoking speculation the central bank may hold off from cutting interest rates in the near-term. (Additional reporting by Antoni Slodkowski; editing by Patrick Graham)

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