Dollar off lows on bargain hunting but still under pressure

* Pound falls after Fitch warns on UK rating

* Euro, cross/yen trim gains on profit-taking but stay firm

* Leveraged carry trades and commodities boost Aussie

By Kaori Kaneko

TOKYO, Nov 10 (Reuters) - The dollar hovered just above a 15-month low against a basket of currencies on Tuesday as investors looked to return to leveraged carry trades, while sterling tumbled after a warning on Britain's credit rating.

Fitch Ratings said that of the four major economies with AAA status, the UK was the most at risk, sending the pound down sharply to shed as much as 1 percent on the day against the dollar before it recovered half a cent from the lows. [ID:nT286946]

David Riley, co-head of global sovereign ratings at Fitch, said if there was another significant fiscal stimulus package in Britain its rating would be at risk.

The pound slipped as far as $1.6600 GBP=D4 from above $1.6750 before edging back to $1.6650 and fell more than 0.5 percent on the day to beyond 90.00 pence per euro EURGBP=D4, before paring lossees to 89.93 pence.

"It reminded the market about the UK's fiscal issues and prompted investors to take profits in a recent sharp rise in the pound, which had risen towards the year's high," said Ayako Sera, a market strategist at Sumitomo Trust & Banking.

An index of the dollar's performance against six major currencies edged up 0.1 percent to 75.130 .DXY, having dropped about 1 percent the previous day to as low as 74.93, its weakest since August 2008. It was the biggest one-day fall since late July.

Expectations that U.S. interest rates are likely to stay near zero for a while are encouraging investors to use the dollar to fund carry trades in higher-yielding assets.

"With relatively solid stocks and higher commodity prices, and major events out of the way, market sentiment has shown a sense of relief," said Mitsuru Sahara, chief manager of currency derivatives trading at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.

"The dollar is weakening broadly at a gradual pace but market volatility is low and there is no climate of returning to crisis," he said.

But other currencies retained much of their gains against the dollar made on Monday when the aftermath of a G20 meeting reinforced expectations for U.S. rates to stay low for a while.

The euro edged down 0.1 percent to $1.4980 EUR=, after gaining about 1 percent on Monday and rising above $1.50 for the first time since late October, nearing its 2009 high of $1.5064. LInk....