LONDON, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Euro zone bond yields edged

slightly lower but stayed close to one-month highs on Tuesday as

traders digested soft German investor sentiment data and a raft

of remarks from policymakers, though these failed to add much

excitement to a schedule thinned by a U.S. holiday.

Germany's 10-year yield, the benchmark for the euro zone,

was down 1.2 bps at 2.65%.

It remained close to the 2.699% level hit on Monday, its

highest since early October, as optimism around the possible end

of the U.S. shutdown drove investors out of safe assets like

bonds and into stocks.

Members of the House of Representatives returned to

Washington on Tuesday, braving the nation's snarled airports for

a vote that could bring the longest U.S. government shutdown in

history to a close.

With the U.S. Treasury market closed on Tuesday for a

holiday, that left the euro zone bond market looking closer to

home for drivers.

However, with investors seeing the European Central Bank as

firmly on hold for its next few rate-setting meetings, domestic

data has been less important for euro zone markets recently.

Several ECB policymakers made public remarks on Tuesday,

including President Christine Lagarde.

The first of these, board member Frank Elderson, said risks

to euro zone inflation are balanced and the current level of

interest rates is appropriate.

In the near to medium term, the focus is on what picture the

much-delayed U.S. economic data will paint when it is released

after the shutdown ends.

"A lot of potentially important directional cues will be

packed into a relatively short timeframe," said ING senior rate

strategist Benjamin Schroeder in a note.

"But even if job numbers deteriorate further, the downside

for U.S. rates may be limited by lingering inflation concerns,"

he said.

He added that euro rates have been following U.S. ones

closely and would need more positive surprises in economic data

to move significantly higher.

Such surprises did not come from data on Tuesday from the

ZEW economic research institute showing German investor morale

unexpectedly fell in November.

British economic data might also be having a marginal effect

when it comes to keeping euro zone yields in check. British gilt

yields fell on Tuesday after soft UK employment data. The

data has bolstered bets on more Bank of England rate cuts.

Other European government bond yields were largely in line

with the benchmark. Italy's 10-year yield was down about 1 bp at

3.4%, after hitting a near one-month top on Monday.

France's 10-year yield was 2 bps lower at 3.42%.

In other news, Switzerland could clinch a deal with the

United States to lower U.S. tariffs on imported Swiss goods to

15% as soon as Thursday or Friday, a Swiss source told Reuters

on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Alun John; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Emelia

Sithole-Matarise)