FOREX-Dollar, yen supported as caution prevails on mixed trade signals

* Greenback steadies after overnight losses on Aussie, kiwi
* Yen hits highest since Friday amid mild risk aversion
* Pound slips after inconclusive election debate
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh

By Tom Westbrook
SINGAPORE, Nov 20 (Reuters) - The dollar and the safe-haven
yen found support on Wednesday as a lack of clarity on
U.S.-China trade talks kept investors cautious ahead of the
release of minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's last policy
meeting.
Moves were slight as jaded traders again weighed mixed
messages on trade, with more upbeat reports offset by U.S.
President Donald Trump delivering yet another warning of more
tariffs if talks fail.
After falling overnight, the greenback rose a little on the
Australian dollar AUD=D3 to $0.6824 and on the New Zealand
dollar NZD=D3 to $0.6426.
It was marginally higher against the euro EUR= at $1.1077
and against a basket of currencies .DXY the dollar last traded
a little stronger at 97.862.
The yen JPY= , regarded as a safe-haven by virtue of
Japan's status as the world's biggest creditor, touched 108.37
per dollar, its highest since Friday.
"It's a very slightly risk-averse day," said Westpac FX
analyst Imre Spiezer. "There's a slightly cautious tone and
mixed messages from the trade war negotiations."
The United States and China have been locked in tit-for-tat
tariff hikes that have dented the global economy.
Hopes for progress on the dispute had risen overnight when
Bloomberg reported that negotiations, which failed in May, would
be considered a baseline in deciding what U.S. tariffs on China
would be rolled back. However, speaking at a cabinet meeting at the White House
overnight, Trump noted that China was "moving along," but any
deal would need to be one he liked.
"If we don't make a deal with China, I'll just raise the
tariffs even higher," he told a room filled with senior U.S.
officials. The U.S. Senate's unanimous passage of a bill aimed at
protecting human rights in Hong Kong amid a crackdown on
demonstrations was also seen likely to raise tensions between
the negotiating parties. The Chinese yuan - the currency most sensitive to the trade
dispute - dropped to a two-week low of 7.0335 per dollar in
offshore trade CNH= early in the Asian day.
Traders and analysts also widely expect China will cut its
new benchmark lending rate when it is fixed at 0130 GMT.
Elsewhere, the British pound GBP= fell slightly overnight
after an inconclusive election debate between Conservative Prime
Minister Boris Johnson, who leads in the polls, and Labour
leader Jeremy Corbyn. It was steady at $1.2919 in Asian trade.
The release of the Fed minutes from October are the next
major scheduled event for markets, with investors looking for
insight into the reasoning for last month's rate cut.
"In particular, clues for whether October was a 'hawkish
cut,' with a high bar for any further easing, or a 'dovish
pause' with a bias for more easing...will be sought," said
Vishnu Varathan, head of economics and strategy for Mizuho Banlk
in Singapore.