FOREX-Dollar bulls stymied by wage data, PMIs next

* Dollar nurses loses after fall on weak wage growth

* Euro holds just under $1.10, dollar near 124 yen

* Bullard says case for September hike still intact

* Official China PMI slips to 50.0 in July from 50.2

By Ian Chua

SYDNEY, Aug 3 (Reuters) - The dollar stayed on the backfoot early on Monday after suffering a setback late last week when subdued wage growth clouded the outlook on the timing for an interest rate hike.

The dollar index last traded at 97.264, having eased 0.2 percent on Friday. The greenback fetched 123.970 yen, down from last week's high of 124.580.

The euro bought $1.09760, having lifted from a low of $1.08935. Against the yen, the common currency was at 136.025 , holding onto last week's 0.2 percent gain.

Sellers took aim at the greenback after the Employment Cost Index rose a mere 0.2 percent in the second quarter, the smallest gain in nearly three decades.

"This strengthened the hand of dovish members of the FOMC who remain circumspect about when inflation will return to the Fed's target, particularly in light of the renewed weakness in commodity and oil prices," analysts at ANZ wrote in a note to clients.

The selloff on Friday just about wiped out the dollar's gains for the week, although things could have been far worse if not for hawkish comments from St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard.

Bullard, who has long called for an earlier tightening, was quoted in a Wall Street Journal report as saying the latest U.S. economic growth data boosts the case for the central bank to raise rates in September.

His comments helped the dollar pare losses late into the U.S. session on Friday. Yet Treasuries kept their gains, suggesting some doubts remained about the timing of a Fed hike.

The dollar's pullback helped its Australian peer bounce above 73 U.S. cents and off a six-year trough of $0.7234 plumbed on Friday.

Further gains for the Aussie are likely to be limited though after an official survey showed growth at China's big manufacturing companies unexpectedly stalled in July as demand at home and abroad weakened.

The Aussie is often used as a liquid proxy for China plays.

Private surveys of manufacturing activities in China and Japan are due later on Monday.

"Yet any relief rally in AUDUSD will likely be sold, in our view, given declining commodity terms of trade and concerns about Chinese growth," analysts at Barclays (LSE: BARC.L - news) said. (Editing by Richard Pullin)