FOREX-Fresh trade deal hopes gently lift dollar, Aussie

* White House adviser sounds positive on deal progress
* Yen eases, riskier currencies lift
* Moves slight as investors await details
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh

By Tom Westbrook
SINGAPORE, Nov 15 (Reuters) - The dollar and riskier
trade-exposed currencies found some support on Friday as fresh
hopes for a breakthrough in Sino-U.S. trade talks were tempered
with caution.
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said late on
Thursday that the two parties were getting close to a deal and
the "mood music is pretty good". He offered no new details, but the sentiment was enough to
reverse a little of the safe-haven Japanese yen's overnight gain
and to buoy the Australian and New Zealand dollars.
The yen JPY= fell 0.2% to 108.57 per dollar and dropped
0.3% on the rising Aussie.
The Australian dollar AUD=D3 , which had tumbled on
Thursday after an unexpected rise in the national unemployment
rate, added 0.2% to $0.6795.
The New Zealand dollar NZD=D3 rose 0.1% to $0.6388.
China's yuan CNY= rose 0.2% but remained just shy of
strengthening past the 7-per-dollar level at 7.0076.
Against a basket of six major currencies .DXY the
greenback was steady at 98.140 as caution and the lack of
concrete news in Kudlow's remarks kept a lid on risk appetite.
"It may not be a game-changer," said Terence Wu, a treasury
strategist at OCBC Bank in Singapore. "Thus, we think any
reversal in the risk-off trades may not see a good shelf-life."
Mixed signals on trade negotiations have abounded in recent
days while evidence of the damage the dispute is wreaking on the
global economy has mounted.
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.
On Thursday, China's commerce ministry said the two
countries are holding "in-depth" discussions, while U.S.
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday a deal was close.
But 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.
Sub-par growth figures on Thursday from China and Japan,
followed by lacklustre updates in Britain and Europe underlined
the potential downside if a deal falters.
Few are game to make a decisive call either way.
"Until we've got the word from Donald Trump, no-one's really
willing to get in front of it," said Jason Wong, senior market
strategist at BNZ in Wellington.
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 the Brexit impasse will finally end.
The pound stood at $1.2880 and at 0.8559 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.