By Kaori Kaneko TOKYO (Reuters) - The dollar fell to fresh lows for the year on Tuesday as a cocktail of central bank comments fed into dollar-bearish sentiment, although options-related trade blocked the euro's rise to $1.50. The euro touched its highest level in 14 months at $1.4994, a hair's breadth short of $1.5000 as traders reported talk of options barriers at and around that level with expiries in Tokyo and New York trading time. Dealers said Japanese exporters also joined the selling, after the dollar failed to extend a recent rebound against the yen, and the Australian dollar pierced $0.9300 for the first time in 14 months after hawkish comments from the central bank. "In addition to options-related trading, the market seems to have taken it as OK to test higher levels on the euro as there were no strong comments about euro strength from the eurozone financial ministers meeting," said Kazuyuki Kato, treasury department manager at Mizuho Trust & Banking. Some traders in Asia had trimmed long euro positions on Monday ahead of a meeting of euro zone finance ministers and European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, in case they came out against the euro's recent appreciation. In the event Trichet discussed FX rates with the ministers but then just repeated a line that he had no reason for doubt when U.S. officials said a strong dollar was in U.S. interests. The dollar has been under sustained pressure this year due to expectations for low U.S. interest rates and questions about its status as the world's reserve currency. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke called on Monday for action on global imbalances, saying China and other Asian nations were looking more seriously at rebalancing than in the past but some issues could be addressed through greater FX flexibility. "The mention of global imbalances should imply a weak dollar," said Masafumi Yamamoto, chief FX strategist Japan, at Barclays Capital. The dollar index .DXY, a measure of its strength against six major currencies, fell 0.4 percent to 75.206 after dipping as far as 75.117, its lowest in 14 months. The euro steadied at $1.4978. Traders said there seemed to be a large amount of euro/dollar options at $1.50 with expiries at 2 a.m. EDT in Tokyo and 10 a.m. EDT in New York. Against the yen, the dollar fell 0.2 percent to 90.39 yen with Japanese exporters choosing to convert dollars to yen after the greenback failed to get above 91.00, traders said. Stock markets around the region were also up after U.S. shares rose to fresh 12-month highs on Monday as optimistic investors rode a wave of solid quarterly earnings. .N "Stocks stayed firm following upbeat earnings of U.S. corporate results, and investors' shifting of funds into commodity-linked currencies continues," said Kato at Mizuho Trust & Banking. The Australian dollar climbed as far as $0.9310 after minutes from the October6 Reserve Bank of Australia policy meeting said it may be imprudent to keep rates very low.

Source