(All UK financial markets are closed on Thursday and Friday for the Christmas and Boxing Day holidays. The markets will reopen on Monday, Dec. 29. FX coverage from London will end around midday on Wednesday, and resume on Dec. 29. Coverage from Asia will continue as normal throughout the period, and coverage from the United States will resume on Friday.)
* Dlr on back foot before U.S. spending, durable goods data
* Weak U.S. housing data shows recession deepening
* Currencies little changed in thin, pre-holiday trade
(Changes dateline, byline, adds comment, updates throughout; previous TOKYO)
By Naomi Tajitsu
LONDON, Dec 24 (Reuters) - The dollar slipped against the yen and a basket of currencies in thin trade on Wednesday as investors braced for U.S. data that may add to the grim outlook for the nation's economy.
The euro was little changed, after European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet on Tuesday gave few clues on the path of future monetary policy amid growing speculation the central bank may leave rates on hold after recent big rate cuts.
In quiet trade ahead of the Christmas holidays, traders awaited readings on U.S. spending and durable goods, which follow figures on Tuesday that showed the U.S. housing market took a sharp turn for the worse last month.
"While the numbers yesterday weren't surprising, they certainly didn't help the dollar trend," said Jeremy Stretch, currency strategist at Rabobank in London.
"The U.S. numbers today will probably be reflective of weakness in the economy. Within the dearth of liquidity, it's a case of dollar bearishness."
By 0842 GMT, the dollar had slipped 0.7 percent to 90.25 yen, staying in range of a 13-year low of 87.13 yen hit last week. It edged 0.3 percent lower against a basket of currencies to 81.200.
The euro was little changed at $1.3970.
Figures due later in the day are expected to show a 0.7 percent monthly decline in personal spending in November, while durable goods orders are seen extending their recent tumble.
On Tuesday data showed a record fall in existing U.S. home sales and prices in November, which had added to an already bleak view of the U.S. economy and prompted some selling in the dollar.
In a speech at a Paris-based think-tank on Tuesday, ECB's Trichet said markets were underestimating the importance of dramatic monetary easing by central banks and a raft of fiscal stimulus plans by governments around the world in response to the financial crisis.
He pointed out that market tensions remained even as interbank lending rates have eased in the past weeks, but kept mum on the central bank's rate outlook, saying that the ECB will do what is necessary to maintain price stability.
Relatively hawkish comments from ECB policymakers in past weeks have fed market speculation that the ECB may keep rates unchanged at 2.5 percent next month, which would keep euro zone rates higher than 2.0 percent in the UK and virtually zero in the United States.
This view helped to push the euro to its strongest level against the dollar in nearly three months to $1.4720 last week, but some analysts say that any support for the euro due to its rate advantage may be short-sighted on expectations that the euro zone economy will continue deteriorating in 2009. (Editing by Tony Austin)