By Ian Chua and Charlotte Cooper SYDNEY/TOKYO, Nov 10 (Reuters) - The dollar's sharp rebound paused on Wednesday as the greenback faltered at significant chart resistance levels and precious metals, which had fallen sharply and given it a boost, began to recover. The euro, which lost 1 percent on Tuesday as euro zone debt concerns pressured it, twice bounced off support at $1.3735 although its recovery was limited, while the dollar failed to push through a significant barrier at 82.00 yen. One dealer said the greenback ran into selling by a short-term player as it neared 82.00 yen, with Japanese exporter sell orders lined up at that level and above also expected to prove a hurdle to its rebound. Still, it has recovered close to important chart levels which could indicate a sharper comeback if they give way. The euro has key support at $1.3700, with a break there opening up the possibility of a test down to $1.3365 EUR=. "If you look at the last few days, the dollar has gained some traction," said Mitul Kotecha, global head of FX strategy at Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong. "It seems like a credible bounce back. I don't see it going too far but it shows you how short the market was." Longer-dated U.S. Treasury bond yields jumped on Tuesday and the market will be watching an auction of 30-year debt later on Wednesday to see if demand is lean. "The ultimate theme of the market is U.S. interest rates," said a trader at a Japanese bank. "If U.S. bond yields rise further after today's auction the dollar could see more upside." <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ G20 battle lines: r.reuters.com/jux34q Basel III; rule reshaping: r.reuters.com/zys68p Gold price performance: link.reuters.com/juz44q Greek, Irish bond yield spread: r.reuters.com/tuk54q ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> The dollar index .DXY, which tracks the greenback's performance against a basket of major currencies, rose as high as 77.88 -- a level not seen since Oct. 28. It was last at 77.80 and faces major resistance in the 78.27-36 band, where a break would signal its fall has bottomed out at least for the near term. Support lies at 77.30-40. The euro fell as low as $1.3735 EUR=, down almost 4 percent from last week's peak around $1.4283. It edged back to $1.3755, down 0.2 percent on the day in highly choppy trading which also saw it gain as far as $1.3794. A near-term risk for the euro is a Portuguese government bond auction later on Wednesday. Portugal, seen by markets as a possible candidate for a Greek-style bailout, is scheduled to sell up to 1.25 billion euros ($1.72 billion) of government debt. [ID:nLDE6A71OG] The premium investors demand to hold Irish and Portuguese debt over benchmark German bunds has blown out to euro lifetime highs and traders said the European Central Bank was again forced to step in on Monday to calm the market. "The euro chart is not looking pretty. A rise in U.S. yields is undermining the euro and now we have Ireland and Portugal issues. The euro does not have positive factors on its own," the Japanese bank trader said. Part of the dollar's climb on Tuesday came from a vicious reversal in silver XAG=, which rippled through the commodity sector [ID:nLDE6A81AL]. Investors have been borrowing in dollars to fund leveraged positions and the pullback in prices forced some to liquidate positions and buy back the currency. Gold and silver were both edging up on Wednesday although the rebound lost a bit of steam. Feeding into investor caution was data showing China's exports and imports grew slightly less than expected in October, while comments by an adviser to China's central bank that it should shift its monetary policy stance to "prudent" from appropriately loose next year weighed on the Australian dollar. The Aussie, which briefly dipped below parity on Tuesday, eased slightly to $1.0029 AUD=D4, down about 2 percent from a 28-year peak above $1.0180 set this month. The New Zealand dollar AUD=D4, which fell 1.3 percent on Tuesday, was further hit by dovish comments by Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Alan Bollard, who said the strength of the local dollar could limit future interest rate rises. [ID:nSGE6A801S] Already weighed down by media reports of a U.S. ban on New Zealand's kiwi fruit vines, the NZ dollar fell 0.3 percent to $0.7755 NZD=D4, down 3 percent from a 31-month high near $0.7980 set last week. [ID:nSGE6A80CM] A move by a Chinese credit ratings agency to cut the U.S. sovereign credit rating underscored growing tension between Beijing and Washington over economic policy ahead of a Group of 20 leaders summit on Thursday and Friday in Seoul. Sterling was steady GBP=D4 after breaching support at $1.6000 to stand at $1.5984. Sterling's near-term fortunes hinge on a Bank of England inflation report due at 1030 GMT. Markets are still betting the central bank may eventually expand its 200 billion pound ($320 billion) asset purchase programme, although recently firm data have reduced expectations of such a move. [ID:nLDE6A71JF] ($1=.7270 Euro; $1=.6253 Pound) (Additional reporting by Hideyuki Sano and contributions by Reuters FX analysts Krishna Kumar in Sydney and Rick Lloyd in Singapore; Editing by Michael Watson)

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