The US dollar was rangebound against the euro and the yen in early afternoon trading here, having been pushed off its lows as traders adjusted positions in preparation for the release later today of the ZEW German economic sentiment survey for August, dealers said. The market forecasts an increase in the ZEW index to 39.0 points from 37.0 in July, signalling an improved outlook for the euro zone's largest economy. "But the recent round of buying-back of the euro on expectations of a much-awaited turnaround of the euro-zone economy is peaking out," Aozora Bank foreign exchange manager Kazuhiro Nishina said. "And I believe that the euro is now poised to resume a downturn against the dollar, rather than extending its run-up," he added. At 12.40 pm (0340 GMT) here, the euro was at 1.2198 usd, compared to 1.2219 usd exactly three hours earlier in Sydney, which was also its level in late New York trading overnight. The dollar was at 109.78 yen, compared to 109.75 yen in Sydney and 109.78 in New York. Against the yen, the dollar was pushed off its day's low on position-adjustments, but the unit stayed at lower levels of its trading range because of the continued strength of the Japanese equity market, dealers said. "Foreign investors seem to be feeling the risk of not holding Japanese equities," Nishina said. "That is supporting the downside of the dollar." At the end of morning trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the blue-chip Nikkei 225 was up 117.48 points or 0.9 pct at 12,569.99, its highest since July 2001, off an intra-day peak of 12,570.31.