* USD/JPY dips on month-end exporter selling * Euro consolidates, wary of contagion risks * Aussie, NZD near 3-month peaks vs USD By Anirban Nag LONDON, Jan 27 (Reuters) - The yen was on track to post its biggest daily gain in a month against the dollar on Friday, recouping most losses made earlier this week as hedge funds bought the currency, while the euro consolidated awaiting a breakthrough in Greek debt talks. Athens is locked in talks with its private creditors to restructure its debt and needs a deal quickly to avert an unruly default when a major bond redemption comes due in March. Greece's creditors are demanding the European Central Bank contribute to a deal to put the country's finances back on track. Many investors are cautious about adding euros to their portfolios on worries Portugal may follow Greece and seek another bailout. Yields on Portuguese government bonds extended their recent rise to set fresh euro-era highs on Friday. This kept the euro pinned down below five-week lows struck against the dollar on Thursday. It was last trading flat on the day at $1.3098, with traders citing bids at $1.3070 and $1.3050. "Investors seem to have grown used to Greek debt swap talks dragging on," said Ankita Dudani, G-10 currency strategist at RBS. "What the real risk for the euro is contagion from a disorderly Greek default and whether Portugal needs another bailout." Against the yen, the euro was down 0.4 percent at 100.93 yen , with the Japanese currency outperforming broadly. The dollar sank as low as 76.895 yen on EBS and came close to a support at a trendline off its Oct. 31 low at 76.70 yen. Traders said Japanese corporates sold the dollar which had been drifting lower after hitting a two-month high this week. This prompted hedge funds to follow suit, pushing the greenback through support at its 100-day moving average of 77.20 yen. The dollar hit a two-month high of 78.29 yen on Wednesday after Japan reported its first annual trade deficit since 1980, but the rally stalled right below resistance at its 200-day moving average. Dudani of RBS said with interest rate differentials moving in favour of the yen after the Federal Reserve's pledge to keep rates low for longer than previously suggested, the dollar was likely to stay subdued against the Japanese currency. CARRY TRADES But analysts said the dollar was unlikely to stay under pressure against the euro after some of the extreme bearish positions against the common currency had been pared. "We may see one more round of selling in the dollar, but I think everyone knows that the unresolved problems in Europe will come to the fore sooner or later, so the dollar will likely stay supported longer-term," said Sumino Kamei, a senior currency analyst at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ. Still, the Fed's decision encouraged the use of the dollar in carry trades and sparked big gains for commodities like gold and copper. The greenback has been on the back foot after the U.S. Federal Reserve's pledged to keep rates near zero for the next three years. The dollar index was down 0.1 percent at 79.316, not far from a six-week low of 79.067. That pledge to keep rates ultra low and expectations that the European Central Bank will inject large amount of funds next month also supported commodity currencies, with the Australian and New Zealand dollars hovering near three-month highs. The kiwi has been a clear outperformer this year with a gain of 5.8 percent, while the Aussie has added more than 4 percent. The United States will release GDP numbers for the fourth quarter and forecasts are for 3 percent growth from a year earlier. That would be a sharp acceleration from the 1.8 percent rate in the prior three months and the quickest pace since the second quarter of 2010. That is likely to fuel risk appetite and buying of higher-yielding currencies.

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