* Dollar index slips as yen stages broad-based rebound
* G20 meeting, ECB on horizon
* Dollar/yen down 0.8 percent at 98.00 yen
(Adds quotes, new prices, changes byline, dateline. PVS TOKYO)
By Jamie McGeever
LONDON, March 27 (Reuters) - The dollar slipped on Friday, weakening most against the yen as dealers picked up the Japanese currency at cheap levels following this week's slide and on last-minute repatriation ahead of the fiscal year-end.
Some market participants also noted some nervousness surrounding dollar sentiment ahead of next week's Group of 20 leaders' meeting in London, which UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Thursday will discuss currencies.
In the near term, a dearth of major economic data and broad strength in equities allowed dealers to trim positions built up this week ahead of the G20 summit and European Central Bank policy meeting next week.
"That's probably fiscal year-end yen repatriation because the (Japanese) data is very weak and will remain weak," said Marcus Hettinger, FX strategist at Credit Suisse in Zurich, regarding the yen's recovery ahead of March 31.
Figures on Friday showed that Japanese consumer price inflation has stalled and suggested the economy was edging toward deflation, while retail sales in February fell more than expected.
"And with equity markets having a nice recovery (this week) the forced deleveraging has stopped, so has taken away some of that recent support for the dollar," he said.
At 0845 GMT the dollar index, a measure of the dollar's value against six major currencies, was down 0.2 percent on the day at 83.918.
The dollar was down 0.8 percent against the yen at 98.00, while the yen recovered from multi-month lows against the Australian and New Zealand dollars struck earlier this week to trade up around 1 percent on the day.
The euro was up 0.2 percent at $1.3560 and sterling was flat against the dollar at $1.4435.
In early European trade U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street, reducing some of the risk appetite that has shown a tentative return to markets in recent weeks.
G20 IN FOCUS
With the G20 summit and the ECB meeting looming next week, traders remain twitchy. Some have been unnerved by debate over the dollar's status as global reserve currency after U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said he was "quite open" to exploring the idea of expanding the use of IMF SDRs, as suggested by Beijing, although he then said the dollar would remain the world's dominant reserve currency for a long time.
That nervousness was stoked by UK Prime Minister Brown's sayingt the G20 will discuss currencies, and some dealers said the dollar could be at risk from any comments made at the meeting, especially given how highly politicized the issue is.
"Currency issues are expected to come up at the summit but we do not think the discussion of a new global reserve currency will be at the centre," UBS said in a note on Friday.
"Geithner's comments ... spooked currency investors, leading to a brief dollar sell-off. But Treasury and IMF officials have reaffirmed the dollar's status as the dominant reserve currency and we think the dollar can also benefit further from the G20 summit and the ECB's next meeting," the bank said.
The ECB is expected to cut rates by 50 basis points to 1 percent on Thursday and may announce further liquidity-boosting measures. (Reporting by Jamie McGeever; editing by Mike Peacock)