* Dollar steady, but off highs as U.S. stock futures rise
* Yen hits 1-wk peak as investors look for safety
* Pound hammered on Brexit worries
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
By Tom Westbrook
SINGAPORE, Sept 9 (Reuters) - The dollar found support on
Wednesday as a stock market slide spooked investors into selling
riskier currencies, while worries about Brexit pushed the pound
down to a new six-week low.
The moves have made for a nearly 2% bounce in the greenback,
against a basket of currencies, from the more than two-year lows
it touched earlier in the month =USD . The safe-haven yen
JPY=EBS also climbed to a one-week high of 105.83 per dollar.
"The tech selloff has caught the market by surprise and it
is a bit jittery as to whether there are broader implications,"
said Bank of Singapore currency analyst Moh Siong Sim.
"It might force some position unwinding in other parts of
the market, and that's probably what we're seeing right now," he
said. The dollar has been sliding since March.
In the Asia session the dollar was mostly steady, pulling
back from early gains on most majors as U.S. equity futures
pared losses - with Nasdaq 100 futures NQc1 swinging to trade
0.6% higher in the afternoon and S&P 500 futures ESc1 flat.
The risk-sensitive Antipodean currencies crept from two-week
lows with the futures trade, to leave the Aussie AUD=D3 ahead
0.2% at $0.7226 and the kiwi NZD=D3 steady at $0.6621.
Sterling was unable to shake pressure as fears grow that
Britain is preparing to undercut its Brexit divorce treaty. It
dipped 0.2% to $1.2950, its lowest since the end of July. GBP/
The pound also languished at a six-week low of 90.57 pence
against the euro EURGBP= and 137.04 yen GBPJPY= .
Britain will set out its blueprint for life outside the
European Union on Wednesday, publishing legislation a government
minister acknowledged would break international law in a
"limited way". "This could derail trade negotiations with the European
Union and further weigh on sterling," said Commonwealth Bank of
Australia currency analyst Elias Haddad.
ECB WATCH
An overnight slump in the oil price dragged down oil
exporters' currencies. The Norwegian krone NOK= extended an
overnight fall to hit a more than six-week low of 9.1840 per
dollar.
The Canadian dollar CAD=D3 dropped to a three-week low
though steadied in Asia ahead of a Bank of Canada policy
decision due at 1400 GMT. Investors expect no changes to
interest rates and will focus on the tone around the outlook.
The euro was also steady as investors await Thursday's
European Central Bank meeting with some trepidation.
The common currency has lost about 2% since posting a
28-month high above $1.20 on Sept. 1, spurred lower by comments
from ECB chief economist Philip Lane, who said the exchange rate
mattered to monetary policy.
Any hint of concern at the currency's rise, or that low
inflation will require ultra-easy policy for a very long time
could whack the euro lower again and boost the dollar.
"Lane appears to have succeeded in drawing a line in the
sand at $1.20 at least for the time being," said Rabobank senior
FX strategist Jane Foley. "We see scope that euro/dollar could
dip further towards the $1.17 level on a one-month view."
The euro EUR=EBS last traded at $1.1772.
In emerging Asia the Indonesian rupiah IDR= was kept under
pressure by concerns about the independence of the central bank
after parliament started reviewing proposals for a Monetary
Council that would allow ministers a vote at policy meetings.
Bank Indonesia said it intervened in the spot market to
smooth volatility, but the rupiah still dropped 0.6%.
Other EM currencies also traded under pressure, notably the
Turkish lira TRYTOM=D3 , which fell to a record low on Tuesday
and is within a whisker of the 7.5 per dollar mark.