FOREX-Dollar ends week on flat note after Fed, data signals

(New (KOSDAQ: 160550.KQ - news) throughout after dollar dips)

* Dollar hands back all of week's gains vs basket, euro

* Next (Other OTC: NXGPF - news) week's U.S. jobs data seen as key driver

* Inflation numbers mildly supportive for euro

By Jemima Kelly and Patrick Graham

LONDON, July 31 (Reuters) - The dollar fell by a third of a percent against the euro on Friday, the lack of decisive new direction from numbers on the U.S. economy prompting traders to take profit on its rise since Wednesday's statement by the Federal Reserve.

The U.S. currency hit a near one-week high against a basket of currencies early in Europe, and was still on track for an almost 2 percent gain in what has been a month of trauma for currencies reliant on commodity prices for direction.

Another 1 percent fall in Brent crude helped drive the Norwegian crown and Australian and Canadian dollars lower while the New Zealand dollar handed back all of the past week's gains to fall almost 1 percent to $0.6543.

But the fall against the euro kept the dollar in negative territory overall, another signal of the lack of the conviction that has seen it stall more broadly against the single currency and yen since March.

"It has been a typical Friday where profit is taken off the table," said Tobias Davis, corporate hedging manager at Western Union in London.

The euro traded 0.3 percent higher at $1.0963 by 1150 GMT.

The decisive factor for the dollar looking forward will be whether the Fed delivers on the expectations of some banks of a rise in interest rates in September with the next big moment next Friday's monthly jobs numbers.

After the Fed meeting this week, Davis said there was around a 40 percent chance of a rise in rates for September priced into the market. December looks just as likely.

"It is still a story of data dependence," he said. "The growth number (this week), although not amazing, was still sound. Spanish unemployment and growth figures, and the reading of inflation this morning may also put a floor under the euro."

The flash estimate on Friday showed euro zone inflation steady at just 0.2 percent in July. But core inflation was higher than expected at 0.9 percent and there had been fears of a yet lower reading after Thursday's reports from Germany and Spain.

The view that a U.S. rate hike would come by the end of the year has helped the dollar gain almost 2 percent against a basket of major currencies this month. The index traded down 0.3 percent at 97.265 on Friday after rising to as high as 97.773 on Thursday.

The dollar was 0.1 percent higher at 124.33 yen.

Shinji Kureda, head of FX trading group for Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation in Tokyo, said market players were likely to be wary of buying the dollar at levels above 124.50 yen. Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said in June he saw no reason for further currency weakness when the dollar was around 125 yen.

"The trend of dollar strength will probably continue heading into the U.S. jobs data next week," he said.

The euro was flat at $1.0930 on Friday but for the month is down almost 2 percent. (Additional reporting by Masayuki Kitano in Singapore and Hideyuki Sano in Tokyo; Editing by Mark Heinrich)