FOREX-Dollar pauses slide, seeks clues on US rates
* Dollar little changed from late NY trade
* Investors await more clues to test Fed rate hike view
TOKYO, June 10 (Reuters) - The dollar was little changed against other major currencies on Wednesday after sliding the previous day when investors questioned whether the economy had improved enough to justify talk of a Fed rate hike by year-end.
The dollar held firm against the euro, sterling and the yen in early Asian trade as some traders bought the greenback to lighten short-position, but stayed defensive ahead of the release of the Fed's Beige Book of regional economic conditions and an auction of 10-year U.S. Treasury notes later in the day.
"The market is struggling to catch a clear trend in the dollar right now," said Yoshihisa Kanzaki, a trader at Shinkin Central Bank, adding that it was hard to make a big directional bet on the dollar.
"What we need to see next is whether an auction of 10-year Treasury notes and the Fed's Beige Book due later today will help further reduce optimism about the economy and views about higher U.S. rates, which in turn could push the dollar lower," Kanzaki said.
The euro was nearly flat from late New York trade at $1.4074 EUR= after climbing as high as $1.4102 on trading platform EBS the previous day.
The dollar fell 0.2 percent to 97.15 yen JPY= on selling from investors. But the yen showed little reaction to data showing core Japanese machinery orders unexpectedly sliding 5.4 percent in April.
Other data on Wednesday showed Japanese wholesale prices fell 5.4 percent in the year to May, their fastest fall in 22 years, slightly weaker than an expected drop of a 5.1 percent. [ID:nT111682]
The pound was steady at $1.6325 GBP=D4 after jumping as high as $1.6363 on Tuesday as stronger-than-expected UK housing data and fading fears of a government collapse lifted sterling. (Editing by Joseph Radford)
