*

Swiss franc rises as investors seek safe havens amid stock

selloff

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Fed officials cautious on further easing due to inflation

concerns

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UK pound drops after reports of no income tax rise in

budget

(Updated in New York morning time)

By Karen Brettell

NEW YORK, Nov 14 (Reuters) - The Swiss franc gained on

Friday as a global stock market selloff sent investors to safe

havens, while the pound weakened after a report the UK budget

will not include income tax rises.

Rising expectations that the Federal Reserve will hold rates

steady in December instead of continuing to ease have dented

risk appetite.

More Fed officials signalled caution on Thursday over

further easing, citing worries about inflation. Investors now

see a 50% chance of a 25-basis-point cut in December.

Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid on Friday said his

concerns about "too hot" inflation go well beyond the narrow

effects of tariffs alone, in fresh remarks that signaled he

could dissent again at the Fed's December meeting should

policymakers opt to cut short-term borrowing costs again.

Traders are preparing for an avalanche of economic reports

that were delayed by the U.S. federal government shutdown, but

which will likely include crucial gaps for October, when the

data wasn't collected.

Markets are "disjointed because of the lack of data and the

people reacting to the Fed speakers," said Lou Brien, strategist

at DRW Trading in Chicago.

The Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis said

on Friday it was working to update its schedule of economic data

releases affected by the recently ended government shutdown.

If data shows further labor market weakness, the dollar may

resume its weakening trend from earlier this year as traders

reprice for more rate cuts.

SAFETY IN SWITZERLAND

The euro was last down 0.2% and got as low as 0.9177 francs,

its lowest since 2015's dramatic swings when Swiss authorities

de-pegged their currency from the euro.

The dollar weakened 0.04% to 0.793 francs.

Meanwhile the United States will slash its tariffs on goods

from Switzerland to 15% from a crippling 39% under a new

framework trade agreement, the Swiss government said on Friday.

The Japanese yen strengthened 0.14% to 154.31 per

dollar but remains in sight of the nine-month low against the

greenback it hit just a few days ago.

The euro fell 0.11% to $1.1618.

Typically, higher U.S. yields and a stock market selloff

would see investors rush to the greenback. Earlier this year

during the turmoil sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump's

tariff announcements, however, the dollar fell alongside stocks

and bonds.

"I think we've learned something about dollar positioning

from this," said Jane Foley, head of FX strategy at Rabobank.

She said markets which had been short dollars after the

tariff turmoil had been gradually covering those positions.

"And then this week, because the market was no longer short,

they were rebuilding those again, so there has been a lot of

position adjustment going on, which has meant it's very

difficult to judge the normal reaction," Foley said.

UK TURMOIL

The pound tumbled against both the dollar and the euro after

media reports, including from Reuters, that British Prime

Minister Keir Starmer and Finance Minister Rachel Reeves have

abandoned plans to raise income tax rates, marking a sharp shift

just weeks ahead of the November 26 budget.

The British currency was last down 0.33% at $1.3146. The

euro hit its highest rate to the pound since April 2023.

In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin was caught up in the risk-off

mood as well. It fell 2.55% to $96,286, its lowest since May.