"We have stated that we are not interested in a weak euro," ECB vice-president Christian Noyer told a Tokyo symposium as the euro slid to an all-time low in late Tokyo trade.

"I am absolutely confident that euro will be a strong currency in the international markets," Noyer added. But in the absence of any more robust statement against the euro's ongoing fall, it dipped as low as $1.0184. It was standing at around $1.0218/25 as of 0810 GMT.

Noyer even appeared to play down the euro's weakness since its birth this year, saying the depreciation was partly a reaction to the rise of currencies of the euro-zone countries in the last few months of 1998 in anticipation of its launch.

"What happened after January 1 is that the euro went back to its original position," Noyer said,adding that it "more or less reflected fundamentals" taking into account the exchange rate between the dollar and the euro-zone currencies between 1997 and 1998.

But on the euro's outlook, Noyer was optimistic, saying the currency is "firmly based on internal price stability" and that he and the ECB governing council agree that the currency "has a clear potential for a stronger external value", repeating the words of his boss, ECB President Wim Duisenberg.

Noyer also reiterated that member states of the Growth and Stability Pact are committed to maintaining fiscal balance or even fiscal surpluses in the medium term, denying a rumour that circulated in Tokyo earlier on Tuesday that euro-zone countries would drop their 3 per cent budget deficit targets.

Tokyo dealers also said the absence of Bank of Japan intervention to buy the euro against the yen accelerated the speculative sales of the euro.

Japan's top financial diplomat Eisuke Sakakibara, also speaking at the symposium, had ironically earlierpraised the ECB for "efficient" implementation of its euro-buying, yen selling intervention last month on behalf of the BoJ.