* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
* Jackson Hole summit is this week's main event
* Currencies off to subdued start in Asia
* U.S.-China tension remain a risk factor
By Stanley White
TOKYO, Aug 24 (Reuters) - The dollar steadied against major
currencies on Monday as traders looked to the Federal Reserve's
annual Jackson Hole retreat for guidance on the outlook for U.S.
monetary policy.
Sentiment for the greenback has improved somewhat due to
supportive data on business activity and home sales, but there
are still concerns that additional monetary easing may be
necessary to keep economic growth on track.
Traders in the yuan, and across the broader financial
markets, are also nervously watching Sino-U.S. ties as President
Donald Trump's wide-ranging diplomatic dispute with China shows
no signs of abating.
"There could be a short-term bounce in the dollar,
especially against the euro," said Junichi Ishikawa, senior
foreign exchange strategist at IG Securities in Tokyo.
"In the long term, the dollar will resume its decline
because the Fed has to commit to aggressive easing for an very
long time."
Against the euro EUR=D3 , the dollar held steady at
$1.1804, clinging onto gains made late last week.
The British pound GBP=D3 bought $1.3101 and traded at
90.11 pence per euro EURGBP=D3 .
The greenback fetched 0.9116 Swiss franc CHF=D3 , holding
onto a 0.5% gain from Friday.
The dollar was little changed at 105.84 yen JPY=D3 , which
showed no reaction to a domestic media report that Japanese
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit hospital on Monday amid
speculation about his health. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will discuss monetary
policy on Thursday at the opening day of the Kansas City Fed's
annual symposium. This year the meeting will be held online, and not at the
hunting and fishing resort of Jackson Hole, Wyoming because of
the coronavirus pandemic.
The quantitative easing that the Fed has deployed so far has
flooded financial markets with excess liquidity and weighed on
the dollar.
Last week the dollar index =USD against a basket of six
major currencies fell to the lowest in more than two years. It
was last trading at 93.197, little changed from Friday.
The world's policymakers have unleashed an unprecedented
wave of monetary easing and fiscal support to offset the
economic drag caused by the pandemic.
However, many countries are now battling a second wave of
infections, which could further delay a full-fledged economic
recovery.
Net short positions in the dollar declined from a more than
nine-year high hit a week earlier, according to calculations by
Reuters and U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data
released on Friday, which suggests that the greenback's declines
could start to slow. The speculative community has been short the U.S dollar
since mid-March.
Elsewhere in currencies, the Australian dollar AUD=D3 was
little changed at $0.7161, while the New Zealand dollar NZD=D3
traded at $0.6539.