FOREX-New bank rules, Chinese data boost euro

* Euro up 1 pct vs dlr, sustained by relief at bank rules

* China data boosts risk appetite, helping Aussie shine

* Dlr/yen focus shifts to Japan's leadership race

(Updates prices, adds flows)

By Jessica Mortimer

LONDON, Sept 13 (Reuters) - The euro rose more than 1 percent against the dollar on Monday as relief at new global banking regulations and upbeat Chinese data lifted investor appetite for currencies seen as higher-risk.

Global regulators agreed tough new capital requirements for banks on Sunday, but these were broadly as expected and markets reacted positively as lenders were given longer than expected to comply with the rules. [ID:nLDE68B0BP]

Forecast-beating Chinese economic numbers also helped propel the higher-yielding Australian dollar to its strongest since late April versus the greenback.

"Better risk appetite is putting the dollar under pressure and the euro and currencies like the Australian dollar have been holding up very well," said Niels Christensen, currency strategist at Nordea in Copenhagen.

The euro extended gains after stop loss orders were triggered around $1.2750/70 and then above $1.2800. It broke above its 55-day moving average at $1.2815.

At 1135 GMT, the euro was up 1.1 percent against the dollar at $1.2814. It also rose 0.9 percent against the low-yielding yen to 107.63 yen.

New rules agreed on Sunday will require banks to more than triple the amount of top-quality capital they hold in reserve but gave them longer than expected to comply. This lifted equities, with European shares <.FTEU3> up 0.9 percent. [ID:nLDE68B0BP] [ID:nLDE68B0HV]

The European Commission forecasting the euro zone economy will grow this year almost twice as fast as previously thought [ID:nLDE68C0KA] also supported sentiment towards the euro.

Analysts said the euro was targeting $1.2920, a level it failed to break above earlier this month, but warned it would remain within its recent range unless it topped that level.

YEN FALLS, AUSSIE SHINES

The yen fell broadly, though it rose against the dollar, which cut earlier gains to trade down 0.17 percent at 84.02 yen, not far from a recent 15-year low of 83.34 yen.

This kept alive jitters about whether Japanese authorities may step in to curb yen gains before a party leadership vote on Tuesday in which Prime Minister Naoto Kan is being challenged by powerbroker Ichiro Ozawa.

The polls are pointing to a cliff-hanger and if Kan wins, the impact would be neutral for the yen. An Ozawa victory could be a modest positive for dollar/yen as he has advocated strong intervention to curb the yen's strength.

"The price action suggests investors are using any opportunity of yen weakness to buy back the currency," said Simon Derrick, head of currency research at Bank of New York Mellon.

He said there was a growing sense in the market that if Japan were to intervene it would have to act unilaterally and would therefore have limited success.

Traders said the dollar was caught in a range versus the yen as bids from Japanese importers around 83.50-80 yen were countered by exporter offers reported above 84.20 yen. The dollar was also off a low of 83.84 yen on option-related demand.

Weekend data showed Chinese factories ramped up production in August and money growth topped expectations, indicating the economy remained buoyant. [ID:nTOE68A00H]

That helped the Australian dollar rise more than 0.6 percent to a high of $0.9333. It faces resistance at the April high of $0.9389 and then its 2009 peak at $0.9407.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed currency speculators slightly raised net long yen positions in the week ending Sept. 7, just before the yen's latest 15-year high. They also raised net long position in the Australian dollar. [IMM/FX]
PDF on Japan leadership vote: http://r.reuters.com/vyk92p

(Additional reporting by Anirban Nag)