* Higher oil prices support commodity-linked currencies
* Market seen range-bound ahead of weekend, G8
* Upbeat Chinese data helps cross/yen
By Kaori Kaneko
TOKYO, June 12 (Reuters) - The dollar was steady against other major currencies on Friday after falling the previous day when improved U.S. labour market and retail sales figures boosted optimism about the economy, eroding the dollar's allure as a safe haven.
A solid auction of U.S. 30-year Treasury bonds on Thursday eased supply concerns and supported U.S. bond prices and stocks, which also lessened demand for the dollar, dealers said.
"Now that a series of Treasury auctions is over, the currency market is taking a breather," said a dealer at a Japanese bank.
"But Treasury yields will likely stay higher until the Federal Reserve's next policy meeting. And a focus will be the central bank's next move, although nobody can control longer-term yields," he said.
U.S. benchmark yields pulled back from eight-month highs above 4 percent after the 30-year debt auction.
A 10-year auction on Wednesday had raised supply concerns but the 30-year sale left a positive spin on the week's total $65 billion in issuance.
Commodity-linked currencies were underpinned by higher oil prices and upbeat data from China.
"From a short-term perspective, commodity prices are a focus," said Kosuke Hanao, head of treasury product sales at HSBC.
"If oil prices rise further even as an economic recovery lags behind, inflation worries could rise," he said.
Inflation worries stemming from a spike in oil prices while the economy remains weak could lift U.S. Treasury yields higher, putting pressure on the dollar, dealers said.
Oil prices on Friday hovered not far from seven-month highs.
Investors were also looking to whether the Nikkei share average holds gains above the key 10,000 level as higher share prices would increase investor risk appetite, dealers said.
U.S. data on Thursday showed retail sales rose in May for the first time in three months and the number of workers filing new claims for jobless benefits last week was the lowest since January, fostering hopes the recession was abating.
The dollar index, a gauge of the greenback's performance against six other major currencies, was little changed at 79.599 from late U.S. trade on Thursday.
The euro was steady at $1.4105 after hitting a one-week high on Thursday of $1.4178 on electronic trading platform EBS. Against the yen, the euro was up 0.1 percent at 137.84 yen.
The dollar edged up 0.1 percent to 97.70 yen.
Market moves in Asia were range-bound led by short-term players ahead of the weekend and a meeting of the Group of Eight (G8) leading world powers.
G8 finance ministers will meet in Italy on Friday and Saturday to assess efforts to combat the global economic crisis.
Dealers said the impact of the G8 meeting on the market is seen limited as the forex market is unlikely to be a major topic but G8 ministers are expected to discuss eventual exit strategies from crisis policies.
A G8 source said the International Monetary Fund has raised its global growth estimates for 2010 to 2.4 percent from 1.9 percent in April because of stimulus measures taken in recent months.
The Australian dollar was down 0.2 percent at $0.8173 due to profit-taking after having gained more than 3 percent this week, but it was not far from an eight-month high of $0.8265 hit earlier this month.
The Aussie was down 0.1 percent at 79.81 yen after hitting an eight-month peak of 80.43 yen on Thursday.
The kiwi climbed 0.2 percent to $0.6447 and was up 0.2 percent at 62.90 yen after news that New Zealand retail sales rose in April. (Editing by Chris Gallagher)