* Graphic: World FX rates in 2018 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
By Saikat Chatterjee
LONDON, Dec 28 (Reuters) - The Japanese yen gained half apercent against the dollar on Friday as investors cut backpositions in risky assets after a volatile week in global stockmarkets and as concerns grow about a trade dispute betweenUnited States and China.
Weak economic data also weighed, with Japanese industrialoutput contracting in November and partially reversing gainsregistered in the previous month, indicating headwinds for theglobal economy.
"The broad environment is a bit more tentative for risktaking and the dollar looks to be struggling thanks to volatileU.S. stocks," said Lee Hardman, a currency strategist at MUFG inLondon.
The dollar index .DXY , a gauge of its value versus sixmajor peers, fell by around 0.15 percent to 96.34, after losing0.5 percent overnight.
Data also showed consumer confidence at its weakest in morethan three years in the United States, as well as an unexpecteddrop in industrial profits in China, a stark reminder forinvestors of the deteriorating global growth outlook.
The yen rose half a percent against the dollar to 110.43yen. The Swiss franc CHF=EBS strengthened 0.2 percent and ispoised for its biggest weekly gain in nearly three months. (Reporting by Saikat Chatterjee; Editing by Catherine Evans) ((saikat.chatterjee@thomsonreuters.com; +44-20-7542-1713;Reuters Messaging: saikat.chatterjee.reuters.com@reuters.net))
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