FOREX-Dollar buoyed by caution as trade deal optimism wanes

* Safe-haven lustre supports yen, dollar
* Investors await details of Sino-U.S. trade deal progress
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh

By Tom Westbrook
SINGAPORE, Nov 15 (Reuters) - The dollar found broad support
on Friday as fresh signs of a global economic slowdown and
little visible progress toward a Sino-U.S. trade truce put
investors in a risk-averse mood.
The latest evidence that the U.S.-China trade war has hurt
the global economy was illustrated by sub-par growth figures on
Thursday from China and Japan, followed by lacklustre updates in
Britain and Europe.
Overnight media reports also suggested negotiations to end
the damaging dispute had stalled.
The Financial Times, citing unidentified people close to the
talks, said an agreement may not be reached in time to avoid a
new round of U.S. tariffs taking effect on Dec. 15. White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow told an event at
the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington late on Thursday
that a deal was "getting close", but offered no new details and
similarly failed to shift the sentiment.
"No news on trade negotiations is becoming bad news," said
CMC Markets' Chief Strategist in Sydney, Michael McCarthy.
The dollar clawed back some of the ground it gave to the
safe-haven yen overnight, rising 0.1% to buy 108.55 yen, and
kept hold of overnight gains against the Australian and New
Zealand dollars.
Against a basket of currencies .DXY , the dollar last
traded at 98.163. The euro EUR= was stable at $1.1020. Moves
were slight as investors looked for concrete news on the trade
front.
"Once that risk event's cleared, it would be a positive
development," said Jason Wong, senior market strategist at BNZ
in Wellington. "But until we've got the word from Donald Trump,
no-one's really willing to get in front of it."
The next scheduled economic updates are Eurozone trade and
inflation data due at 1000 GMT and the New York Fed
manufacturing survey due at 1330 GMT.
Trade news has been scarce. Earlier in the week, Trump
offered bluster but no fresh details in a policy address in New
York.
The British pound, meanwhile, sat near peaks scaled
overnight.
Sterling GBP= touched a six-month high against the euro
and gained on the dollar as expectations that Britain's ruling
Conservative Party might win a majority in a Dec. 12 election
fuelled optimism that the Brexit impasse will finally end.
It stood at $1.2881 and at 0.8555 pence per euro in Asian
trade. "Markets now appear to be priced for a high likelihood of
a majority Conservative government," RBC Chief Currency
Strategist Adam Cole said in a note.
The Australian dollar AUD=D3 nurses losses inflicted by an
unexpected rise in unemployment on Thursday to trade at $0.6786.
The kiwi NZD=D3 was unmoved by Reserve Bank of New Zealand
Governor Adrian Orr telling bankers in San Francisco that New
Zealand was prepared to use unconventional policy tools.
The New Zealand dollar had jumped by a percentage point on
Wednesday when the RBNZ unexpectedly left interest rates on
hold. China's yuan was steady at 7.0167 per dollar in offshore
trade CNH= . Home price data is due (0130 GMT), a day after
readings showed China's main growth engines all faltered more
than expected in October.