By Ankur Banerjee
       SINGAPORE, July 14 (Reuters) - The dollar hovered at
15-month lows on Friday after a steep dive overnight, as markets
wagered the Federal Reserve was close to the end of its rate
hike cycle due to easing inflation. 
    The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency
against six major rivals, stood at 99.71 in early Asian hours,
its lowest since April 2022. The index is on course for its
worst week since November.
    U.S. producer prices barely rose in June and the annual
increase in producer inflation was the smallest in nearly three
years, data showed on Thursday, a day after consumer prices rose
modestly last month as evidence mounts that the world's largest
economy had entered a phase of easing inflation.
    "Markets are generally pretty pleasant with the lower
inflation data, because lower inflation together with the still
resilient labour market supports the narrative of a soft landing
in the U.S. economy," said Carol Kong, currency strategist at
Commonwealth Bank Of Australia in Sydney.
    "But we still maintain our view that the U.S. will enter
recession later this year because of the impact of past and
potentially future interest rate hikes."
    Markets are pricing in a 92% chance of a 25 basis point hike
from the Fed later this month, CME FedWatch tool showed, but no
more for the rest of the year. 
    Data on Thursday also showed that the number of Americans
filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell
last week, indicating that the labour market remains tight even
as job growth is slowing.  
    Ryan Brandham, head of global capital markets, North
America, at Validus Risk Management, said the data on weekly
jobless claims and producer prices are supportive of the soft
landing. 
    "If the Fed wishes to hike rates again later this month ...
it will be reassured by the jobs data. Although the recent trend
of lower inflation may be encouraging, it probably won't be
sufficient to change the committee's decision."
    Still, Fed officials remain cautious, with Federal Reserve
Governor Christopher Waller saying he's not ready to call an all
clear on U.S. inflation and favours more rate rises this year.
    Meanwhile, the Australian dollar eased 0.16% to
$0.688 after Michele Bullock was appointed head of Australia's
central bank on Friday, becoming its first female governor as it
undertakes a sweeping reorganisation.
    The euro touched a fresh 16-month peak of $1.1229
in Asian hours before easing to $1.1222, while sterling
last fetched $1.3119, down 0.11% on the day. The pound broke
above $1.30 on Thursday for the first time since April 2022. 
    The Japanese yen strengthened 0.23% to 137.71 per
dollar and is on course for its best week against the dollar
since January. 
    In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin last rose 0.03% to
$31,367.56, having touched near two-month peaks of $31,818
overnight. Ethereum last rose 1.4% to
$2,014.10.
    A U.S. judge ruled that Ripple Labs did not violate federal
securities law by selling its XRP token on public exchanges.
    The XRP token eased 7% in early Asian hours to trade
at $0.7546 after surging 76% on Thursday.
        
  
    ========================================================
    Currency bid prices at 0123 GMT
 Description      RIC         Last           U.S. Close  Pct Change     YTD Pct     High Bid    Low Bid
                                              Previous                   Change                 
                                              Session                                           
 Euro/Dollar                  $1.1224        $1.1227     -0.01%         +4.76%      +1.1229     +1.1213
 Dollar/Yen                   137.6300       138.0150    -0.26%         +4.89%      +138.1000   +137.6500
 Euro/Yen                                                                                     
 Dollar/Swiss                 0.8587         0.8588      +0.03%         -7.09%      +0.8594     +0.8585
 Sterling/Dollar              1.3123         1.3134      -0.08%         +8.52%      +1.3139     +1.3117
 Dollar/Canadian              1.3110         1.3109      +0.04%         -3.21%      +1.3115     +1.3110
 Aussie/Dollar                0.6883         0.6890      -0.09%         +0.98%      +0.6892     +0.6876
 NZ                           0.6391         0.6393      -0.09%         +0.59%      +0.6396     +0.6387
 Dollar/Dollar                                                                                  
                                                                                                
    
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 (Reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Singapore; Editing by
Jacqueline Wong)