FOREX-Yen off highs as Japan signals growing concern

* Yen hits another 14-year high on dollar, yen crosses fall

* Pro-risk trades unwound on concerns about Dubai debt

* Japan finmin raises prospect of G7 joint statement on FX

* Japan govt, BOJ were checking dlr/yen rates - sources

By Satomi Noguchi

TOKYO, Nov 27 (Reuters) - The yen hit its highest level in 14 years on the dollar on Friday before trimming gains as Japanese authorities made their presence felt by calling banks, moving one step closer to intervention to stem the yen's surge.

Market sources said Japan's government and the Bank of Japan had checked dollar/yen rates with commercial banks in morning trade in Asia, something dealers said went further than their normal market contact. [ID:nTKF106774]

Concerns about debt problems in Dubai saw investors unwinding yen-funded carry trades in the likes of the Australian and New Zealand dollars in early Asian trade, causing the dollar to plunge to a new 14-year trough below 85 yen.

Japan's finance minister raised the prospect of a Group of Seven joint statement on currencies to cool the yen's rally, but some traders and analysts were sceptical the move was disorderly enough to draw a response from the U.S. or Europe just yet. [ID:nT304288]

However, traders said talk of the calls to banks and the comments from officials had encouraged dealers to trim long yen positions, although they said they doubted Japan's authorities were ready to intervene just yet and this could have been a feint to discourage speculators.

"We heard about it (the call to banks) from different directions in the market," a trader at a Japanese bank said.

"The Bank of Japan may have wanted to make its presence felt."

The dollar fell as far as 84.82 yen JPY=, its weakest since 1995 and ever closer to its record low of 79.75, before pulling back up to 86.10 yen, still down 0.5 percent on the day.

Stop-loss selling in the dollar by Japanese margin traders likely gained steam after the greenback's drop below 86.00 yen, according to major margin broker GAITAME.com.

The broker also said initial signs suggested that there was a surge in loss-cut selling by margin traders earlier on Friday.

In a market made thinner by a U.S. holiday on Thursday, Japanese exporters had fuelled the early drop by buying yen ahead of the month-end, while traders also dumped dollars due to option triggers at 85.00 yen. Sell orders then kicked in below that level