CORRECTED - FOREX-Euro/dollar rallies from near 9-mth low on Bernanke

(Corrects spelling of Hoversen in 5th paragraph)

* Euro recovers from near 9-month low versus dollar

* Threat of Greek default still unnerving

* Aussie slides after RBA decision (Recasts, updates prices, adds comment)

NEW YORK, Oct 4 (Reuters) - The euro bounced from a near nine-month low and rallied sharply against the dollar on Tuesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank is prepared to act further to help the economy.

For details on Bernanke's remarks see [ID:nW1E7KM007].

The move higher in the euro then fed on itself as investors who had bet against the single currency were forced to buy and cover short positions to prevent more losses.

"We've been selling off over the last 48 hours or so, so we're overdue for a little bit of a bounce," said Brian Dolan, chief strategist at Forex.com in Bedminster, New Jersey. "The combination of people being short and Bernanke opening the door to QE 3 is helping stabilize sentiment."

The euro rose as high as $1.3301 on trading platform EBS. It last traded at $1.32661, up 0.7 percent on the day.

"The euro has been selling off for days," said Jessica Hoversen, foreign exchange analyst at MF Global in New York. Investors "are grabbing on to Bernanke."

But investors cautioned the euro's gains may not last.

Earlier the euro weakened after European finance ministers debated making banks take bigger losses on Greek debt and delayed a vital aid payment to Athens until mid-November.

The single currency fell to $1.3145 on electronic trading platform EBS, its weakest since January as a slide in stocks and a collapse in the shares of Franco-Belgian banking group Dexia -- which has hefty exposure to Greek debt -- prompted flight to the safety of the world's most liquid currency.

Investors still see a growing possibility of a default in Athens as euro zone finance ministers look to force banks to take bigger losses on their Greek debt holdings, while the next aid tranche for the country has been delayed until mid-November. [ID:nL5E7L34AJ]

Technical traders said the outlook for the common currency had turned increasingly negative after a bearish cross on the 50- and 200-day moving averages, while support was seen at $1.3040, a 61.8 percent retracement of the rally from June 2010 to May 2011.

Chris Fernandes, vice president and foreign exchange adviser at San Ramon, California-based Bank of the West said the euro would test $1.3000 but not before the ECB meeting on Thursday.

While those who believe the ECB may cut its benchmark rate are in the minority, Fernandes said, the ECB statement will be closely scrutinized for clues as to the ECB's outlook.

The euro also fell to its lowest since at least 2004 on EBS at 100.77 yen before recovering to trade with a gain of 1 percent to 101.971.

The dollar was last up 0.2 percent against the Swiss franc at 0.9236 Swiss francs on EBS after earlier touching a six month high.

The greenback was 0.3 percent higher against the yen at 76.855 yen .

AUSSIE HIT

The Australian dollar hit a one-year low of US$0.9388 , down around 17 percent from the post float high it touched in July, as an increasing number of investors start to worry about Chinese growth. The Aussie was floated in 1983.

The commodities-driven Australian currency extended losses after the country's central bank opened the door to possible monetary easing as early as next month if upcoming inflation data proves benign.

From a technical standpoint, it also looks prone to more selling given a "death cross" of the 50-day moving average under the 200-day average, the first such formation in more than a year.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia expects the Aussie to fall below 90 U.S. cents in the next month or so.

The Canadian dollar also slipped against the U.S. dollar to a one-year low . (Reporting by Nick Olivari; Editing by Kenneth Barry)