FOREX-Dollar near 11-week low on Fed easing bets

* Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
* Fed rate cut views continue to weigh on dollar
* Euro steady, take Trump's comments on the currency in
stride

By Shinichi Saoshiro
TOKYO, June 12 (Reuters) - The dollar hung near an 11-week
low against its peers on Wednesday, weighed by expectations the
U.S. Federal Reserve could cut interest rates some time in the
next few months.
The dollar index .DXY versus a basket of six major
currencies was flat at 96.698, trading just above the 96.459
level it hit on Monday, its lowest since March 25.
The index has been under pressure following a sharp decline
in long-term U.S. Treasury yields, which fell to near two-year
lows on Friday after a soft U.S. jobs report raised expectations
for an interest rate cut by the Fed.
Investor focus is now on the Fed's next policy meeting on
June 18-19 and what kind of signals the central bank could offer
on the direction of monetary policy.
"The market has priced in a rate cut by the Fed to a
significant degree," said Shinichiro Kadota, senior strategist
at Barclays in Tokyo.
"So the market is waiting for next week's Fed meeting as a
chance to see by how much and for how long it is ready to ease
policy."
Expectations for a central bank rate cut this year rose last
week after a number of Fed officials, including Chairman Jerome
Powell, hinted they were open to easing monetary policy.
The euro EUR= was steady at $1.1328 and in close reach of
a three-month peak of $1.1348 scaled on Friday.
The single currency was little affected by U.S. President
Donald Trump's accusation that Europe was devaluing the euro,
which has gained roughly 1.4% against the dollar so far in June.
"The Euro and other currencies are devalued against the
dollar, putting the U.S. at a big disadvantage," Trump tweeted
on Tuesday without offering any evidence. The dollar was little changed at 108.495 yen JPY= . The
greenback has crawled off a five-month low of 107.810 plumbed a
week ago when risk aversion in the broader markets heightened
demand for the safe-haven yen.
China's yuan CNH=D4 was steady in offshore trade at 6.9259
per dollar after bouncing back the previous day from seven-month
lows.
The yuan had risen on Tuesday after China's central bank
said it would sell yuan-denominated bills in Hong Kong in late
June, in a move that some market analysts believed was aimed at
stemming a sharp decline in the yuan. An escalation in the U.S.-China trade conflict has weighed
heavily on the yuan this year.

(Editing by Sam Holmes)