The Bangladesh taka was steady against the US dollar in inter-bank trade yesterday while the euro eased slightly and yen rose supported by speculation that the US may ask Japan not to intervene market, dealers said.

The dollar traded at 58.4100-58.4200 to the taka yesterday in line with its previous closing on Sunday, foreign exchange dealers of leading commercial banks said.

Trading was higher as most international markets reopened today after the two-day weekend holiday. "Pressure for dollar buying was strong from importers", dealers said.

Sentiment on taka, however, remained bearish thanks to huge surplus funds in the banking system, they said.

Some dealers took long-position in yen as the Japanese yen rose against the dollar in line with a surge in Japanese shares. Besides, there was a speculation that the visiting US Treasury Secretary John Snow may warn Tokyo against intervention, dealers said.

The Japanese yen was quoted at 116.71 to the dollar Monday, against 116.87 in New York late Friday while the euro fell to 1.0989 dollars today from 1.0985 dollars in New York Friday, dealers on online trading said.

"Investors were bullish on the yen due to a strong rise in the Nikkei index," dealers on online trading said noting that the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Nikkei-225 index had gained 237.59 points or 2.29 per cent to 10,581.14.

They said the yen also held firm as investors speculated Snow would warn Japanese authorities against massive yen-selling intervention to prevent the Japanese currency's appreciation relative to the dollar.

"There is the ongoing speculation that Snow may warn the Japanese authorities against massive intervention," dealers said noting that investors are closely monitoring Snow's comments on the foreign exchange topic.