* Rate hike focus, Greek aid hopes buoy single currency
* Stocks weaker on U.S. growth fears
* Bunds edge up on recovery worries
By Simon Jessop
LONDON, June 6 (Reuters) - The euro hovered near a one-month high against the dollar on Monday, boosted by prospects of an ECB rate hike and a fresh Greek bailout deal, while concerns about the U.S. economy sent stocks tumbling.
On government debt markets, growth worries outweighed
expectations of fresh aid for Athens, supporting demand for
safe-haven assets to send Bund futures
The single currency
But it shed some of its gains after Germany's finance ministry said a lenders' inspection report on Greece was not expected until mid-week and all options remained on the table. [ID:nB4E7GU00T]
The prospect of extra aid, totalling up to 100 billion euros ($146.4 billion) according to German news magazine Der Spiegel, will not answer the question of Greek solvency in the longer term but would buy more time for the regional laggard.
It also leaves the path open for a further rate hike as the European Central Bank looks to rein in inflation, a goal given fresh impetus after euro zone producer prices rose in April. [ID:nLDE7550T9]
The data reinforced a belief the ECB will signal a July rate rise to 1.50 percent at Thursday's meeting.
"This is likely to provide further near-term support to the euro, given that the markets' focus now appears to be turning back to (U.S./euro zone) interest rate differentials following likely agreement on further support for Greece," Howard Archer, chief European economist at IHS Global Insight, said.
The euro was trading at $1.4614 at 1031 GMT, with a test of $1.50 expected in the coming weeks if the currency can push through resistance at $1.4710.
By 1031 GMT the dollar index <.DXY> had recovered from lows to trade up 0.1 percent.
"The provisos (for more euro gains) are that U.S. equity markets fail to undergo a deeper correction and that Greece's political opposition does not scupper fresh austerity measures," BNP Paribas strategists wrote in a report.
Greece's cabinet will debate the austerity plans on Monday as popular protests swell and Prime Minister George Papandreou seeks to avoid the fate of socialist peers in bailed-out peripheral peer Portugal, which voted in a new centre-right government on Sunday. [ID:nLDE7540LE] [ID:nLDE7550F3]
Concerns over the outlook for growth in the world's largest economy following dire U.S. non-farm payrolls numbers on Friday sent Asian shares down overnight and drove fresh falls for European stocks.
By 1032 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> had recovered slightly to trade down 0.4 percent.
After closing out a fifth week of losses on Friday in
response to the jobs data, U.S. stock index futures
<.DJc1>
The poor data meant the pressure "is on the downside for European equities", Manoj Ladwa, senior trader at ETX Capital, said.
Emerging market stocks <.MSCIEF> shed 0.1 percent, the MSCI world equity index <.MIWD00000PUS> 0.1 percent and the Thomson Reuters global stock index <.TRXFLDGLPU> 0.2 percent.
Prospects for reduced energy demand from the United States
weighed on crude futures
An OPEC meeting this week could see the group lift its oil
production targets, although leading member Saudi Arabia is
likely to face tough opposition in its push to raise supply from
hawks Venezuela and Iran.
The jobs data and weaker dollar also fuelled fresh gains for
gold, with spot gold
BUNDS
At 1035 GMT, the Bund future was 23 ticks higher at 125.45, as analysts said the potential for more Greek aid could yet pressure safe-haven debt.
"The bearish bias could continue for a little bit ... We should see further relief as (a second) bailout package is somehow shaping up," said Commerzbank strategist Rainer Guntermann. "This is what the market is starting to anticipate so there's probably some more downward correction in store."
Short-dated Greek debt yields
Greek two-year yields
($1=.6829 Euro)
(Additional reporting by Neal Armstrong, Joanne Frearson and Marius Zaharia in London; Graphics by Scott Barber; Editing by Toby Chopra, John Stonestreet)