Tokyo, Feb 18: The euro rose to record highs against the dollar on Wednesday, taking its cue from the US unit's broad-based losses, notably against high-yielding currencies such as the British pound. Receding concern that the European Central Bank (ECB) would intervene in the market or cut interest rates also emboldened traders to test the European authorities' resolve to curb the euro's strength, traders said. "The perception is that the ECB won't intervene unless the euro rises much higher, so the natural reaction is to buy euros when other currencies are so strong against the dollar," said Takashi Toyahara, foreign exchange manager at Nomura Securities. He said that ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet's comments earlier in the week did not suggest that the central bank was about to go beyond just stating its concern about market volatility and actually act against the euro's strength. The euro rose to around $1.2920 by 2 a.m. EST, up more than half a percent on the day and 3.5 percent since the start of the month. Traders noted that the dollar's across-the-board losses were led by its declines against high-yielding currencies like sterling and the Australian dollar. Sterling rose more than half a cent on the day to hit 11-year highs around $1.9125 while the Australian dollar rose a quarter U.S. cent to climb above $0.80 for the first time in seven years. Britain's key interest rate stands at 4.0 percent while the U.S. federal funds rate target is 1.0 percent. Traders were keeping a close eye on the minutes of the Bank of England's February Monetary Policy Committee meeting, due for release at 4:30 a.m. EST, for any clues on further rate rises ahead. Bureau Report