FOREX-Dollar steadies, European rate decisions eyed

* Dollar consolidates after October's hefty gains

* Focus on ECB, BoE and RBA as rate cuts loom

SYDNEY, Nov 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar steadied on Monday, after recording its biggest monthly gain in more than 17 years in October, with investors bracing for another round of interest rate cuts this week by the world's major central banks.

The European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the Reserve Bank of Australia are all set to lower rates to support their struggling economies from the threat of a looming global recession.

They are all expected to ease by at least 50 basis points. Last week, the U.S. Federal Reserve cut its key rate by 50 basis points to 1 percent with the Bank of Japan (BoJ) following it up with a 20 basis point reduction.

Emerging giants China and India also cut rates last week.

By early Asian trade, the euro was barely changed at $1.2749 against the dollar EUR=, having lost about 9.6 percent in October, the single currency's worst monthly performance since its launch in 1999.

The yen JPY= was steady around 98.51 yen.

"The focus this week is clearly on some of the major central banks and it is hard not the see the disease that started in the United States spreading to other economies," said Robert Rennie, chief currency strategist at Westpac, in Sydney.

Rennie added that investors were also likely to get a reminder of the weakness in the U.S. economy from key jobs data later in the week.

A Reuters poll shows the U.S. economy is likely to shed 200,000 jobs in October with the unemployment rate rising to 6.3 percent as tight credit conditions force companies to cut costs.

A manufacturing survey due on Monday is also expected to show sluggish activity extending into October, backing views that the world's largest economy has possibly slipped into a recession.

On Friday, data showed a steep drop in business activity in the U.S. Midwest, while a Commerce Department report showed consumers cut monthly spending for the first time in two years in September.

Elsewhere, the New Zealand dollar NZD= showed little reaction to data showing a record rise in labour costs in the third quarter, but slowing employment.

The report did little to alter expectations of further interest rate cuts to follow last month's 1 percentage point cut to 6.5 percent by the Reserve Bank. [nWEL378505] (Reporting by Anirban Nag; Editing by James Thornhill)