FOREX-Aussie falls on cbank minutes; pound tanks

* Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh

By Saikat Chatterjee and Hideyuki Sano
LONDON/TOKYO, Dec 17 (Reuters) - The Australian dollar fell
nearly half a percent on Tuesday after the central bank opened
the door to another cut in interest rates as early as February
while the pound tanked on reports that Prime Minister Boris
Johnson was seeking a hard line on Britain's transition period
after Brexit.
The Australian dollar lost 0.4% to $0.6868 AUD=D3 after
minutes of its December policy meeting showed the central bank's
board was concerned that wage growth was too weak to revive
either inflation or consumption. The downside may be limited, however, as investors were
cautiously optimistic over an interim trade deal the United
States and China struck last week which fuelled gains in
emerging market currencies and capped the yen and Swiss franc.
The deal, announced on Friday after more than two-and-a-half
years of volatile negotiations between Washington and Beijing,
will reduce U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods in exchange for
increased Chinese purchases of some U.S. goods.
"The Aussie is weaker on the back of the back of the mode
dovish than expected RBA minutes," said Valentin Marinov, head
of G10 FX strategy at Credit Agricole.
"That said, market expectations of a Phase 1 US-China trade
deal could limit the currency's downside in the near term."
The pound was the other big loser in early London trading
after reports that Johnson's revised Withdrawal Agreement Bill
would require the United Kingdom to have arrangements to leave
the European Union in place by Dec. 31 next year. Against the dollar, the British currency GBP=D3 fell 0.7%
to $1.3236 in early Asian trading and was hovering slightly
above that level at $1.3253. It is down nearly 2% below a
post-election high of above $1.3516 hit on Friday.
The drop in the Australian dollar and the pound boosted the
greenback with the U.S. currency trading 0.1% stronger against a
basket of its rivals .DXY .
The euro was broadly stable against the greenback at $1.1143
EUR= , levels it has traded around since August.