RPT-FOREX-Dollar steadies as German data eyed

(Repeats to fix technical glitch)

By Chikako Mogi

TOKYO, May 20 (Reuters) - The dollar steadied on Tuesday after rebounding against the euro overnight on improved sentiment after a U.S. leading indicator report, but its upside was capped due to caution ahead of German sentiment and prices data.

The private Conference Board's Leading Economic Indicators index rose 0.1 percent in April to match the increase in March, which had followed five straight months of declines.

The data was seen supporting views that the U.S. economic slump had bottomed out and that the Federal Reserve was near the end of its easing cycle, helping the dollar to recover against the euro after a sell-off late last week on concerns about U.S. growth prospects, traders said.

The market was now focusing on Germany's ZEW sentiment index and producer prices index due later on Tuesday for clues about whether the euro could sustain gains above a recent range, traders said.

"The euro is choppy and traders are eyeing the key German data later today," said a dealer at a Japanese bank. "If figures are strong, the euro could break above the recent range while weaker figures could push it below."

The euro was up 0.1 percent at $1.5525 EUR=, after rising to around $1.5630 on Monday before the U.S. leading indicator report pushed it back below $1.5500.

Traders said depending on the German figures, the euro could break out of the recent range between $1.5300 and $1.5600.

The dollar was up 0.1 percent against the yen from late U.S. trading on Monday to 104.44 yen JPY=.

Since early May, the dollar has traded between about 102.60 yen and 105.70 yen, having pulled up from a 13-year low of 95.77 yen hit on trading platform EBS in mid-March.

The dollar's failure to hold above 105 yen suggested lingering concerns about the U.S. economy, and exporter selling around 105 yen continued to keep its upside capped, traders said.

"The dollar's upside remains heavy as the U.S. economy, while showing some signs of bottoming out, is still very far away from a full recovery. There are concerns about the impact of rising inflationary pressures on such a fragile economy," the dealer at the Japanese bank said.

With oil prices surging to a record above $127 a barrel, the market will also focus on U.S. producer price data due later on Tuesday.

After cutting its benchmark interest rate to 2 percent in April, the Fed hinted that it may pause an easing campaign that began in mid-September, when the rate stood at 5.25 percent.

The Fed's aggressive rate cuts have undermined the dollar's appeal against the euro and other high-yielding currencies.