FOREX-Dollar slips after Powell bolsters rate cut bets; bitcoin sinks

* Powell: Fed ready to "act as appropriate" to sustain
expansion
* Powell, Fed minutes rekindle bets on 50 bp rate cut in
July
* Bitcoin slides after Powell's strong comments on Libra
plans
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh

By Hideyuki Sano and Tomo Uetake
TOKYO, July 11 (Reuters) - The dollar eased on Thursday
after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell set the stage for a
rate cut later this month, vowing to "act as appropriate" to
ensure the world's biggest economy will be able to sustain a
decade-long expansion.
In testimony to Congress, Powell pointed to "broad" global
weakness that was clouding the U.S. economic outlook amid
uncertainty about the fallout from the Trump administration's
trade conflict with China and other nations. "Chairman Powell sounded dovish on most dimensions. This is
slightly surprising given benign trade developments following
last month's G20 meeting and the recent rebound in nonfarm
payrolls," said Michael Swell, co-head of global fixed income
portfolio management at Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
"Overall, his comments around slowing growth against a
backdrop of muted inflation and elevated uncertainties is
consistent with 'insurance rate cuts' this year."
Adding to a generally dovish tone in his testimony, the
minutes from the Fed's previous policy meeting showed many
policymakers thought more stimulus would be needed soon,
reviving speculation of an aggressive rate cut.
The euro rose 0.2% in Asia to $1.1274 EUR= , extending
gains after a 0.4% rise the previous day.
The dollar dipped 0.5% to 107.96 yen JPY= , extending its
slide from a six-week high of 108.99 set on Wednesday before
Powell's testimony.
The dollar's index against six major currencies .DXY =USD
slipped 0.2% to 96.877, extending its losses into a second
session after Powell's first day of testimony, and turned
negative on the week.
Money market futures 0#FF: have jumped to price in around
a 30% chance that the Fed will cut rates by 50 basis points at
its next policy review on July 30-31 - a scenario that had been
priced out after Friday's strong U.S. jobs data.
A 25-basis-point cut is already fully factored in.
"A rate cut in July is completely sealed now. But on the
other hand, Powell dropped little hint on what he would do after
that, as he sounded quite optimistic on the economy," said
Kyosuke Suzuki, director of forex at Societe Generale.
"That uncertainty, I think, will most likely keep the dollar
in fairly tight ranges in coming weeks," he said.
Elsewhere, the British pound also bounced off from six-month
lows to trade at $1.2529 GBP=D4 .
But it is still down on the week as the British currency has
been dogged by Britain's economic gloom and a fast-approaching
Brexit deadline.
A raft of dismal UK data and the risk of crashing out of the
European Union without agreeing transitional trade arrangements
have forced the Bank of England to change its upbeat assessment
of the economy.
In contrast, the Canadian dollar moved closer to last week's
eight-month high, as the Bank of Canada showed no sign that it
would match potential interest rate cuts from the Fed, making
clear it had no intention of easing monetary policy.
The Canadian dollar CAD=D4 stood at C$1.3052 per U.S.
dollar, not far from C$1.3038 touched a week ago.
In the cypto market, bitcoin BTC=BTSP shed as much as 8.5%
on Wednesday after Fed Chairman Powell made strong comments
against Facebook's FB.O digital currency plans. Bitcoin was
last down 3.1% at 11,722.21 on Thursday.
Powell said Facebook's Libra "cannot go forward" until many
serious concerns were addressed, comments that pressured the
project and dented the price of the original cryptocurrency
bitcoin.