LONDON, Nov 9: The euro wavered on Tuesday after failing to pierce the symbolic 1.30-dollar threshold, as eurozone officials expressed disquiet at the currency's rise to record highs against the greenback.

The single European currency stood at 1.2902 dollars in early European trading, against 1.2916 late on Monday in New York.

The dollar rose to 105.78 yen from 105.50 on Monday.

"The dollar has steadied over the last 24 hours as the market digests the recent up-tick in the level of European opposition to further euro gains," said Steve Pearson at HBOS bank.

The euro has backtracked after reaching an all-time summit of 1.2987 dollars on Monday, with the 1.30-dollar level proving more of an obstacle than expected.

Markets were absorbing increased rhetoric from eurozone officials, including European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet who said on Monday that "brutal" currency rises were "not welcome."

Belgium's central bank chief and ECB board member Guy Quaden added his voice on Tuesday.

"A further rise in the euro would not be desirable - an acceleration (of that rise) would be even worse," he told the daily De Tijd.

"Recent movements between the euro and the dollar, which have tended to be too brutal, are not welcome from the ECB's point of view," he added.

Also weighing on the euro, a survey of analysts and institutional investors showed expectations for the German economy over the next six months declined in November for the fourth straight month.

An index compiled by the ZEW institute fell by 17.4 points to 13.9.

"The growing pessimism reflects a slowdown in the world economy and the recent surge in the value of the euro," the institute said.

Eurozone policymakers are concerned that a stronger euro will make exports from the region less competitive and stifle already-weak economic growth.

"It's clear that $1.30 seems to be a kind of line in the sand as far the eurozone officials are concerned," said Kamal Sharma, analyst at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein.

Analysts at Standard Chartered described Trichet's remarks as a "deliberate warning" to global foreign exchange markets regarding the euro's recent appreciation.

They added: "Clients should recall that he made the same 'brutal moves' comment at the end of January, which subsequently proved successful in capping euro-dollar at its then high of 1.2930."

But given the large US current account deficit, such a reversal appeared less likely on this occasion, the analysts argued.

The euro was changing hands at 1.2902 dollars from 1.2916 late on Monday in New York, 136.51 yen (136.24), 0.6956 pounds (0.6957) and 1.5274 Swiss francs (1.5255).

The dollar stood at 105.78 yen (105.50) and 1.1837 Swiss francs (1.1809).

The pound was at 1.8549 dollars (1.8560), 196.23 yen (195.83) and 2.1957 Swiss francs (2.1921).

On the London Bullion Market, the price of an ounce of gold stood at $432.50 against $431.90 late on Monday.-AFP