*

Traders expect cautious U.S. approach to tariffs to reduce

inflation risks

*

Dollar index close to two-week lows

*

Mooted 10% levies on China far short of 60% threatened

earlier

*

(Updates in European morning trade)

By Kevin Buckland and Greta Rosen Fondahn

TOKYO/GDANSK, Jan 22 (Reuters) - The dollar struggled to

regain ground against major currencies on Wednesday, hovering

close to two-week lows as a lack of clarity on President Donald

Trump's plans for tariffs kept financial markets guessing.

Trump said late on Tuesday that his administration was

discussing imposing a 10% tariff on goods imported from China on

Feb. 1, the same day that he previously said Mexico and Canada

could face levies of around 25%.

He also vowed duties on European imports, without providing

further details.

Despite those threats, a lack of specific plans from Trump's

first day in office saw the dollar start the week with a 1.2%

slide against a basket of major peers. It stabilized on Tuesday,

ending flat after an attempted rebound fizzled, with U.S.

officials saying any new taxes would be imposed in a measured

way.

The dollar index, which tracks the currency against

six top rivals, eased 0.1% to 108 on Wednesday, not far from the

two-week low of 107.86 it touched on Tuesday.

"Tariffs have again grabbed the headlines overnight as Trump

commented in the evening that his threat of a new 10% tariff on

China was still on the table...," said Deutsche Bank's Jim Reid.

"Trump's comments leave plenty of near-term uncertainty even

though the trade investigations from his day 1 executive orders

will take some time to play out."

Trump on Monday signed a broad trade memorandum, ordering

federal agencies to complete comprehensive reviews of a range of

trade issues by April 1.

The greenback rose 0.13% to 155.715 yen, edging up

slightly from the one-month low it touched the day before.

INFLATION RISKS

The euro was little changed at $1.0428 and traded

close to the two-week peak it touched on Tuesday.

Sterling, which reached its highest in 1-1/2 weeks

in the previous session, edged down slightly to $1.235.

Analysts have said that Trump's policies on immigration, tax

and tariffs will likely boost growth but also be inflationary,

but the more cautious tariff approach has fuelled some hopes

that inflation risks could be more limited.

Traders expect a quarter-point Fed interest rate cut by

July, while another reduction by year-end is considered a coin

toss.

The Canadian dollar was little changed at 1.4326

per U.S. dollar, following a volatile week that saw it tumble as

low as 1.4520 overnight for the first time since March 2020,

feeling additional pressure from cooling inflation last month.

The Mexican peso gained about 0.19% to 20.572 per

dollar.

China's yuan weakened slightly to 7.275 per dollar

in offshore trading, although that was after pushing to the

strongest level since Dec. 11 on Tuesday at 7.2530.

"A 10% tariff on China imports would be far below the 60%

rate he mentioned in his campaign," said Alvin Tan, head of Asia

FX strategy at RBC Capital Markets.

"On top of this is the general sense that Trump is not

pursuing maximalist trade protectionism in his early actions,

but appears to be positioning for trade negotiations," Tan said.

"Altogether these suggest that the U.S. dollar could drop

further."