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Euro At Highest Since Last May Versus Yen The euro extended its highest levels in almost a year versus the yen on Wednesday, but failed to launch against the dollar due to renewed concerns about the European sovereign debt situation. Even with the markets pricing in a rate hike from the European Central Bank in April, the euro has leveled off against the dollar in the absence of a coherent plan to deal with Portugal's debt-driven dilemma. The potential contagion of sovereign debt crisis to other European Union or euro area nations is not insignificant, Executive Board member of the European Central Bank Lorenzo Bini Smaghi said on Wednesday. Yesterday, Standard & Poor's downgraded Greece and Portugal's credit ratings on possible risks to bondholders. Still, the euro has pushed ahead against the yen this week, rising to an 11-month peak of Y114.29. The yen strengthened dramatically earlier this month, but has reversed course after a rare intervention in the currency markets by the Group of Seven nations. The euro has leveled off near $1.41 versus the dollar, having touched a 4-month peak of $1.4247 last week. Private sector employment in the U.S. showed another significant increase in the month of March, according to a report released by payroll processor Automatic Data Processing, Inc. The report said private sector employment rose by 201,000 jobs in March following a downwardly revised increase of 208,000 jobs in February. The euro was down slightly at GBP 0.8780 versus the sterling, after hitting a 5-month peak of GBP 0.8835 in the previous session. Eurozone economic confidence fell more-than-expected in March as the devastating earthquake in Japan and concern over the impact of political unrest in the Middle East on energy prices weighed on the economic outlook. Although at an elevated level, economic sentiment fell to 107.3 from 107.9 in the previous month, survey results from the European Commission showed Wednesday. The consensus forecast called for a score of 107.5.