Jan 20 (Reuters) - German Bund futures slipped early on Friday as signs Greece could be nearing a vital deal with its private bondholders needed to avoid a messy default sapped demand for bonds seen as a safe-haven in the euro zone's debt crisis. Greece is running out of time as it needs to seal an agreement with its private creditors in coming days to pave the way for a fresh injection of international aid before 14.5 billion bond redemptions fall due on March 20. Bund futures fell nearly a point in the previous session as solid auctions from Spain eased concerns for now about one of the bloc's biggest economies' ability to finance itself. Improved U.S. economic data and bank earnings have also boosted appetite for riskier assets. "There seem to be hopes of some sort of Greek deal building but we have to see what develops over the weekend. We may not get it today today so we might be in consolidation mode after yesterday's sell-off," a trader said. The Bund future was last four ticks down at 138.92 compared with 138.96 at Thursday's settlement, with cash 10-year yields little changed at 1.85 percent.

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