FOREX-Dollar steady, though trade deal optimism aids riskier currencies

* Impeachment risk recedes, Trump stokes trade-deal optimism
* Dollar hands back some gains to trade-exposed currencies
* Sterling nurses losses as Brexit outlook clouds
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh

By Tom Westbrook
SINGAPORE, Sept 26 (Reuters) - The dollar consolidated on
Thursday, staying near multi-week highs against most major
currencies while slipping against riskier ones after U.S.
President Donald Trump said there could be a trade deal with
China soon.
"It's the Trump pump, and it works," said Matt Simpson,
senior market analyst at Gain Capital in Singapore.
"But there's not really any major moves either, it's a
slight boost to risk," he said, noting traders were also trying
to assess the likely direction of a Trump impeachment probe
opened by the Democrats on Wednesday.
The Australian dollar edged higher and the safe-haven yen
JPY= was marginally firmer at 107.65 per greenback, not far
from a one-week low.
The euro EUR= bounced from an overnight two-week low but
remained under $1.10 at $1.0959. Sterling GBP= also edged off
a two-week low hit as investors priced in many more months of
Brexit and election risk, touching $1.2368 on Thursday.
Trump stoked hopes for a trade deal by telling reporters in
New York that the U.S. and China were having "good
conversations" and that an agreement "could happen sooner than
you think". That helped the Australian dollar claw 0.2% higher, while
the New Zealand dollar NZD=D3 kicked ahead further after New
Zealand's central bank governor said it was unlikely he'd need
to use unconventional monetary policy. The kiwi rose 0.6% for the day to $0.6307. The Chinese yuan
CNY= was slightly firmer at 7.1229 per dollar.
The dollar index .DXY nudged lower to 98.877 after its
sharpest rally in three months overnight. It remained stronger
than at any point last week.
The greenback had at first been sold when U.S. House of
Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the Democratic-led
chamber was launching an impeachment inquiry over Trump's
handling of a call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
A summary of the call subsequently released by the
administration showed Trump pressed Zelenskiy to investigate
former Vice President Joe Biden - Trump's leading Democratic
rival - but did not show Trump threatening to withhold aid.
The House inquiry could trigger a trial in the Senate on
whether to remove Trump from office, though that is seen as
unlikely to succeed because Republicans control the Senate.
"Markets shrug these things off very, very quickly and we
move on to the next stuff," said Nick Twidale co-founder of
Sydney-based trade finance provider Xchainge, who said investors
were shifting the prospect of impeachment to the long-term.
"As it moves on, it's going to be interesting, but we have
to go back to the fundamentals and fundamentals are going to
push the dollar higher over time."

(
Editing by Richard Borsuk)