* Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
* Dollar buoyed by U.S.-China tariffs pledge
* Some doubt about when trade deal will be signed
* BoE division hurts pound, paves way for rate cut
By Stanley White
TOKYO, Nov 8 (Reuters) - The dollar held on to its gains
versus the yen and the Swiss franc on Friday as a China-U.S.
agreement to roll back tariffs on each others' goods supported
riskier assets, even as some reports suggest a preliminary trade
pact is far from a done deal.
The yen also nursed losses against the euro and the
Australian dollar as progress in resolving a 16-month long trade
war between the world's two largest economies weakened demand
for safe havens.
China and the United States have agreed to roll back
tariffs on each others' goods in a "phase one" trade deal if it
is completed, officials from both sides said on Thursday.
However, there is still some scepticism about a trade deal
as officials inside and outside the White House have bristled at
the notion of giving up punitive tariffs.
Muddying the water further, White House spokeswoman Stephanie
Grisham told Fox News Channel in an interview on Thursday that
the United States is "very, very optimistic" about reaching a
trade deal with China soon. Sterling traded near a two-week low after two Bank of
England unexpectedly voted to cut interest rates due to
uncertainties posed by Britain's fraught exit from the European
Union. The remaining seven policy makers on the board voted to keep
policy unchanged, but Governor Mark Carney and others said they
would consider a cut in the future.
On the whole, sentiment is likely to remain supportive for
the dollar, equities and other risky assets as a de-escalation
in the U.S.-China trade war removes a huge risk to the global
economic outlook.
The dollar index .DXY against a basket of six major
currencies stood at 98.136, up 1% this week.
"The overall tone is risk-on, which is a positive for the
dollar and a negative for the yen," said Tsutomu Soma, general
manager of fixed income business solutions at SBI Securities Co
in Tokyo.
"We can see this in other markets, which is why stocks are
so strong. We still need to figure out when the United States
and China will sign this deal, but the mood so far is supportive
for markets."
Trump has used tariffs on billions of dollars of Chinese
goods as his primary weapon in a trade war that has hurt global
growth and rattled financial markets in the past year.
The dollar held steady at 109.34 yen JPY=EBS in Asia on
Friday, close to a five-month high, and is headed for a 1.1%
gain for the week.
The greenback CHF=EBS edged higher to 0.9953 Swiss franc,
on course for a 1% gain.
The pound GBP=D3 traded a $1.2815, close to the lowest
since Oct. 24. Cable was on course for a 1% decline this week.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected the BoE to vote
unanimously to keep Bank Rate at 0.75%.
The announcement of the 7-2 split weighed on sterling as
market odds on a cut next year rose as high as 80%.
To date, the BoE has resisted following the U.S. Federal
Reserve and the European Central Bank in cutting its main
interest rate, but the outcome of Thursday's meeting suggests
the BoE is poised to change its stance on monetary policy.