* GRAPHIC: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
By Daniel Leussink
TOKYO, June 11 (Reuters) - The dollar was largely steady
against other major currencies on Tuesday, but investor appetite
for risk was kept in check after U.S. President Donald Trump
renewed his tariff threats towards China.
Financial markets over the last year have been gripped by
fears of escalating trade tensions between the world's two
largest economies, stoking worries over the outlook for global
growth.
Against a basket of six peers, the dollar edged up 0.02% to
96.781 .DXY , having ended the previous session with a 0.2%
gain.
Appetite for risk remained subdued as investors waited for
confirmation of a possible meeting between Trump and China's
president at the Group of 20 summit near the end of the month,
analysts said.
Trump said on Monday he was ready to impose another round of
tariffs on Chinese imports if he does not reach a trade deal
with President Xi Jinping at the June 28-29 summit in
Osaka. Since two days of talks to settle the U.S.-China trade
dispute last month in Washington ended in a stalemate, the U.S.
president has repeatedly said he expected to meet Xi at the G20
gathering. China has not confirmed any such meeting.
"It might not happen if the Chinese side thinks there isn't
any point in having a meeting if the opinions are far apart from
the start," said Yukio Ishizuki, senior currency strategist at
Daiwa Securities.
"Trump has been applying pressure by emphasising there'll
surely be a meeting, but it isn't clear what the Chinese side
will do."
In offshore trade, the Chinese yuan was last up 0.2% at
6.9310 yuan per dollar CNH=D4 , reversing an earlier loss. It
was still hovering not far off a near seven-month low brushed on
Friday.
The currency was not helped by data on Monday showing an
8.5%-drop in imports in May, a much worse than expected outcome
that signalled weak domestic consumption. The Australian dollar touched a one-week low at $0.6953
AUD=D4 before recovering from its losses, in line with the
move in the offshore yuan.
It was last up 0.2% at $0.6965, recouping some of the
previous session's declines, when it shed more than half a
percent.
The Aussie is often seen as a proxy for China's growth, with
Australia export-reliant economy shipping huge volumes of
commodities to the Asian nation.
Elsewhere, the dollar was steady at 108.415 yen JPY= ,
while the euro was largely unchanged at $1.1317 EUR= .
The single currency dipped on Monday after two sources
familiar with the European Central Bank's policy discussions
said on the weekend that a rate cut was firmly in play if the
bloc's economy stagnates again after expanding by 0.4% in the
first quarter. The euro rallied nearly 1.5% last week after the ECB said
rates would stay "at their present levels" until mid-2020
instead of hinting at rate cuts, as some had expected.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
GRAPHIC: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>