FOREX-Dollar steady as traders await US inflation data, ECB meeting

By Gregor Stuart Hunter and Lucy Raitano

SINGAPORE/LONDON, Sept 11 (Reuters) - The dollar held onto small gains on Thursday as traders awaited key U.S. consumer price data for a steer on the Federal Reserve's rate cutting path, while the euro was unchanged ahead of a European Central Bank meeting.

"The main event is the U.S. CPI... The market is looking for reasons to reprice the Fed lower and push the USD down," said Michalis Rousakis, G10 FX strategist at Bank of America.

"The question is whether the Fed can be re-priced lower, given that a cut or a little more is priced for September, and almost three cuts are priced by year-end," he said. Bank of America's house view is for two more Fed rate cuts this year.

The dollar index =USD nudged up 0.2% to 97.97, with the dollar largely steady against major currencies.

Elsewhere, an unexpected drop in U.S. factory-gate prices on Wednesday has bolstered expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut rates next week.

The data followed Tuesday's revision to U.S. employment growth figures, with the U.S. having created 911,000 fewer jobs in the 12 months through March than previously estimated.

Meanwhile, the European Central Bank was expected to hold rates steady when it meets later in the day.

The euro was unchanged at $1.1686 EUR=EBS ahead of the rate decision. Analysts said policymakers may strike a more dovish tone to counter a fraught trade and political outlook across the continent.

The common currency is stabilising after a two-day streak of declines as geopolitical tensions continue on the EU's eastern flank. Poland said it shot down suspected Russian drones in its airspace on Wednesday with the backing of aircraft from its NATO allies, the first time a member of the Western military alliance is known to have fired shots during Russia's war in Ukraine.

Commerzbank analysts said in a note that hopes of the ECB meeting being a catalyst for greater movement in EUR/USD are likely to be dashed, given no new information is likely to be forthcoming.

"If anything, hopes may lie with ECB President Christine Lagarde. After all, she sounded surprisingly hawkish at the last two press conferences," they wrote.

Given that a rate cut is not expected until next June, they added, Lagarde is unlikely to reveal her hand so far in advance.

FED FIRMLY IN FOCUS

Attention remains on the Fed's likely rate cut trajectory.

Markets are trading on expectations that the prospect of the Fed easing is a certainty and the only remaining question is by how much. Traders are pricing in an 8.9% chance of a jumbo 50 basis points (bps) rate cut at the central bank's September 16-17 meeting, while a cut of at least 25 bps is viewed as a done deal, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.

Appointments to the Fed's rate-setting panel remained in focus, as President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday moved to appeal a federal judge's ruling temporarily blocking Trump from taking the unprecedented step of firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. The White House is seeking to remove her before next week's Fed meeting.

Stephen Miran also moved closer to becoming a Federal Reserve governor, furthering Trump's effort to exert more direct control over interest rate policy. The Senate Banking Committee voted to advance Miran's nomination, though lawmakers involved said it is far from certain if the process can be completed in time for him to participate in the coming meeting.

Against the yen, the dollar was trading 0.3% higher at 147.96 yen JPY=, after data showed Japanese wholesale prices rose 2.7% in the year to August, accelerating from the previous month in a sign of sticky inflationary pressure in the world's fourth-largest economy.

The Australian dollar slipped 0.1% to $0.6605 AUD=D3, retreating after hitting the highest levels since November on Wednesday, as commodities including crude oil and gold gave up recent gains.

The offshore yuan traded at 7.1232 yuan per dollar CNH=, strengthening 0.06%. The kiwi slipped 0.3% to $0.59260 NZD=D3.

Sterling traded down 0.2% to $1.35105 GBP=D3.