* Dollar index firms after overnight rally, yen edges down
* Singapore dollar skids after surprise easing
* Aussie slips despite upbeat labour force data
By Lisa Twaronite and Ian Chua
TOKYO/SYDNEY, April 14 (Reuters) - The dollar was broadly
firmer on Thursday, having posted its biggest one-day gain in
more than a month as an improvement in global sentiment led
investors to trim bearish dollar positions.
A surprise policy easing by Singapore's central bank, citing
a tougher outlook for economic growth, also boosted regional
equities and gave the dollar a lift against that country's
currency.
The greenback was up about 0.9 percent at 1.3631 Singapore
dollars SGD=D3 after the Monetary Authority of Singapore said
it will set the rate of appreciation of the currency's nominal
effective exchange rate (NEER) policy band at zero percent,
starting on Thursday.
"The Singapore move was a surprise, so people jumped on the
bandwagon to bid up the dollar," said Kaneo Ogino, director at
foreign exchange research firm Global-info Co in Tokyo.
The index tracking the dollar against a basket of six major
currencies was up 0.2 percent at 94.950 .DXY , after rallying
nearly 1 percent on Wednesday, while the euro edged down about
0.1 percent to $1.1265 EUR= from a six-month high of $1.1465
touched on Tuesday.
The dollar added about 0.1 percent against its Japanese
counterpart to 109.41 yen JPY= , pulling well away from a
17-month trough of 107.63 set a few days ago.
"The dollar/yen might not go much higher for now because
people are a bit knackered after covering short positions," said
Global-info Co's Ogino, citing strong resistance at 110 yen.
The yen got no help from Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko
Kuroda, who said overnight in a speech in New York that the
central bank was ready to expand monetary stimulus again if
recent weaknesses in inflation expectations persist, stressing
that there are "many ways" to do so to achieve his ambitious
price target.
Kuroda made the remarks ahead of a meeting of Group of 20
financial leaders in Washington this week, where currency policy
is seen high on the agenda in the face of subdued global growth.
The Federal Reserve has highlighted global uncertainty as
the major bar to another hike in interest rates. So, when upbeat
trade data out of China and a pick-up in commodity prices
seemed to lessen the risk of a deeper world downturn, dollar
bulls figured there was now more chance of a move.
Analysts at CitiFX said recent developments might serve as
"foundational encouragement" for investors to warm up to the
idea of pricing in more tightening.
Just this week, Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker, San
Francisco Fed President John Williams and Philadelphia Fed
President Patrick Harker all suggested that several hikes were
possible this year.
Fed funds futures 0#FF: are barely pricing in one hike
this year, let alone multiple tightenings after recent dovish
comments from core Fed members led by Chair Janet Yellen.
In an interview with Time magazine published on Wednesday,
Yellen again highlighted a cautious approach to monetary policy,
saying the U.S. central bank must try to avoid making "big
mistakes".
An unexpected fall in U.S. retail sales in March supported
Yellen's cautious approach. The disappointing data contributed
to a fall in U.S. yields, yet it failed to dent the rallying
dollar.
Similarly wary, the Bank of Canada warned of weaker global
growth and a less favourable U.S. outlook as it held interest
rates steady. It raised growth forecasts for 2016, but nudged
them lower for 2017.
The dollar added about 0.2 percent to C$1.2842 against its
Canadian counterpart CAD=D4 .
Other commodity currencies also ceded ground to the
greenback. The Aussie AUD=D4 dipped below 77 U.S. cents after
coming within a whisker of its 2016 peak of $0.7723.
Even a healthy labour force report failed to lift the
Aussie. The unemployment rate fell to 5.7 percent, its lowest
since late 2013.
For the rest of the market, the key focus will be on China's
first quarter gross domestic product and March industrial output
and retail sales due on Friday. ECONCN
Investors will be looking for more signs of stabilisation in
the world's second-largest economy, following Wednesday's upbeat
trade data.