FOREX-Dollar picks up before Fed, pound braces for EU meeting on Brexit

* Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
* Dollar in focus as Fed meets, BOJ likely to stay pat
* Brexit process dogs sterling
* Trade war and Brexit woes pose risk to global economy

By Stanley White
TOKYO, Oct 28 (Reuters) - The dollar traded near its highest in more than
two months versus the yen on Monday ahead of a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting this
week where policymakers are expected to cut interest rates but emphasise their
reluctance to ease policy further.
Sterling edged lower versus the dollar and the euro, with an agreement
expected later on Monday to delay Britain's divorce from the European Union to
Jan. 31 after Prime Minister Boris Johnson failed to win approval for his Brexit
timetable.
China's yuan rose to its strongest level in two weeks on Monday after
Beijing and Washington said they were "close to finalizing" a first-stage
agreement to scale back their trade war, but some traders tempered their
optimism because a quick resolution is far from certain.
The market focus will shift to the Fed meeting ending Oct. 30 and a Bank of
Japan meeting ending Oct. 31. The Fed is expected to cut interest rates for a
third time this year, but fixed income analysts say this is largely priced into
the market. The BOJ is leaning toward keeping policy on hold next week, but the decision
is a close call as policymakers struggle with threats to the global outlook from
the U.S.-China trade war and Brexit. "A Fed rate cut is already factored in, but the dollar could be bought back
if the Fed somehow signals it won't cut rates further," said Yukio Ishizuki,
foreign exchange strategist at Daiwa Securities in Tokyo.
"Until we can confirm this, traders are likely to adjust their existing
positions in the dollar."
The dollar traded at 108.77 yen JPY= on Monday, close to 108.94 yen, which
is the highest since Aug. 1.
The greenback EUR= was quoted at $1.1083 per euro, close to its strongest
in more than a week.
The pound GBP=D3 fell 0.14% to $1.2818 and eased 0.15% to 86.48 pence per
euro EURGBP=D3 .
The EU bloc's 27 ambassadors will meet at 0900 GMT on Monday in Brussels to
agree on a three-month delay from the current Brexit date of Oct. 31, diplomatic
sources told Reuters. More than three years after Britons voted in a referendum to quit the EU,
the country and its parliament remain divided over how, when and even whether to
leave, and the matter has triggered a spiralling political crisis in the UK.
The dollar index .DXY against a basket of six major currencies stood at
97.849, also near its highest in more than a week.
The Fed meeting this week is widely expected to result in a cut in interest
rates of 25 basis points, and that has been priced in, but some analysts expect
the Fed to sound "hawkish" by signalling it is reluctant to cut rates further.
The U.S. currency got a mild boost on Friday after the U.S. Trade
Representative's office said it is "close to finalizing" some parts of a trade
agreement with China. On Saturday, China's Ministry of Commerce said "technical consultations" on
some parts of a trade agreement were basically completed, but investors are
likely to remain sceptical because even a partial deal would not eliminate risks
posed by trade friction.
In the onshore market, the yuan CNY=CFXS briefly strengthened to 7.0523
per dollar, the strongest since Oct. 14. In the offshore market, the yuan
CNH=D3 briefly rose to 7.0450 per dollar on Monday, the strongest since Sept.
13, but then gradually gave up its gains.