* Russia's Kudrin voices confidence in U.S. dollar
* Euro zone worries help push euro below $1.38
* Data shows slump in U.S. factory sector
* Euro zone banks could face further $283 bln in writedowns (Updates prices, adds quotes)
By Wanfeng Zhou
NEW YORK, June 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar rose broadly on Monday after Russia expressed confidence in the greenback as the world's reserve currency, while concerns about the euro zone economy undermined the euro.
The single European currency fell below $1.38 to its lowest level in more than three weeks after the European Central Bank said euro zone banks will probably need to write down another $283 billion.
Speaking on the sidelines of a Group of Eight finance ministers meeting in Italy, Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said the dollar's role as the world's main reserve currency is unlikely to change in the near future.
The comments followed statements from a top Russian central bank official last week that it would cut the share of U.S. Treasuries in its reserves. But Kudrin's comments alleviated concerns that major emerging market countries may be diversifying away from the dollar ahead of a summit of leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) in Russia on Tuesday.
"Reserve diversification has really come into question given the complete U-turn in the comments from the Russian finance minister," said Kathy Lien, director of currency research at GFT Forex in New York. "We have started the new trading week on a dollar-friendly tone."
The International Monetary Fund on Monday also threw its support behind the U.S. unit, saying the dollar's status as the world's dominant reserve currency is likely to remain.
"Markets have been increasingly concerned about the status of the U.S. dollar," said Camilla Sutton, senior currency strategist at Scotia Capital in Toronto. "It's fairly clear to most people there's no alternative."
In late New York trading, the ICE Futures' dollar index, a gauge of the greenback's value against a basket of major currencies, rose 1.2 percent to 81.112.
EURO WOES
The euro fell to $1.3755 against the dollar on electronic trading platform EBS, the lowest in more than 3 weeks, as investors worried about persistent economic weakness in the euro zone. It last traded at $1.3792, down 1.6 percent.
The euro also fell sharply against the yen to 134.44, a roughly two-week low. It was last at 134.97 yen, down 2 percent from late on Friday.
Investors fretted about news suggesting euro zone banks could face another $283 billion in writedowns. The figures were published in the ECB's latest Financial Stability Review.
Separately, a German industry group warned on Monday that tight credit conditions are putting a squeeze on German firms, which could hamper a recovery.
Russia's remarks and concerns about the euro zone's economy outweighed data showing a slump in New York state's factory sector in June and a net capital outflow from the United States in April.
The dollar fell 0.6 percent to 97.76 yen, as U.S. stocks declined sharply and dented investor appetite for risk.
The subdued risk sentiment also pressured higher-yielding, commodity currencies, with the Australian and New Zealand dollars both down about 2 percent versus the greenback on the day.
"What we're going to find out relatively soon is just how far we're going to go down in the stock market," said Andrew Busch, global FX strategist at BMO Capital Markets in Chicago.
Should stocks fall, it would be "mildly dollar positive," he said. "But it won't last long. We're certainly away from the severe dollar shortage that we had in the fall and in early part of this year. The dollar overall is going to remain weak." (Additional reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Kenneth Barry)