(Refiles to say "was" in 2nd paragraph)

By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK, Dec 6 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar was nearly unchanged against the euro and yen on Tuesday after strong gains the day before, with investors trying to position for next week's expected interest rate hike from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The Australian dollar AUD=D3 was down slightly. It rose earlier after the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) raised rates for the eighth time in as many months.

Data Monday showing that U.S. services industry activity unexpectedly picked up in November prompted speculation the Fed may lift interest rates more than recently projected. Traders currently expect a half-point hike from the Fed next week and they expect a terminal rate of just above 5% in May. FEDWATCH

"There's not a lot of fresh incentives," said Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex in New York. "There was a lot of price action yesterday, and we're just consolidating that," with the big focus on next week's Fed meeting.

Next week's calendar also includes the release of the key consumer price index data for November.

Investor sentiment appeared to be shifting as well, he said. "Previously, it seemed to me people were willing to buy dollar dips, and now they seem to be more enthusiastic about selling dollar bounces."

The U.S. dollar index =USD , which measures the currency against six major peers, remains up roughly 10% for the year so far. It was last up 0.1% on Tuesday.

The euro EUR=EBS was flat against the dollar at $1.0492, while the dollar was down 0.1% against the Japanese yen JPY=EBS .

European Central Bank policymaker Constantinos Herodotou said on Tuesday interest rates will go up again but are now "very near" their neutral level.

The Aussie dollar AUD=D3 was down 0.1% at $0.6690. It had risen earlier as the RBA said it was not on a preset course to tighten policy but inflation was still high.

The dollar was up 0.6% against the Canadian dollar CAD=D3 ahead of the Bank of Canada's rate decision Wednesday. Traders are pricing in a 73.3% chance of a dialed-down 25 basis-point hike from the BoC, although a slim majority of economists polled by Reuters are expecting a 50 basis point rate hike.

The Western price cap on Russian seaborne crude, which came into force on Monday, may start to show its impact on the energy market soon, said Francesco Pesole, FX strategist at ING.

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Currency bid prices at 10:39AM (1539 GMT) Description

RIC

Last

U.S. Close Pct Change

YTD Pct

High Bid

Low Bid

Previous

Change

Session

Dollar index

=USD

105.3400

105.2300 +0.12%

10.116%

+105.5000 +104.8900

Euro/Dollar

EUR=EBS

$1.0492

$1.0493

+0.00%

-7.71%

+$1.0533

+$1.0476

Dollar/Yen

JPY=EBS

136.6850

136.8000 -0.10%

+18.72%

+137.4200 +135.9800

Euro/Yen

EURJPY=

143.40

143.50

-0.07%

+10.04%

+144.0000 +143.1100

Dollar/Swiss

CHF=EBS

0.9412

0.9427

-0.15%

+3.18%

+0.9455

+0.9378

Sterling/Dollar GBP=D3

$1.2164

$1.2185

-0.18%

-10.06%

+$1.2240

+$1.2156

Dollar/Canadian CAD=D3

1.3671

1.3587

+0.61%

+8.12%

+1.3671

+1.3558

Aussie/Dollar

AUD=D3

$0.6690

$0.6699

-0.12%

-7.95%

+$0.6744

+$0.6688

Euro/Swiss

EURCHF=

0.9875

0.9886

-0.11%

-4.76%

+0.9909

+0.9860

Euro/Sterling

EURGBP=

0.8623

0.8606

+0.20%

+2.65%

+0.8632

+0.8591

NZ

NZD=D3

Dollar/Dollar

$0.6311

$0.6316

-0.04%

-7.77%

+$0.6354

+$0.6305

Dollar/Norway

NOK=D3

10.0030

9.9550

+0.50%

+13.57%

+10.0075

+9.9025

Euro/Norway

EURNOK=

10.4919

10.4294

+0.60%

+4.78%

+10.5007

+10.3953

Dollar/Sweden

SEK=

10.4091

10.3943

+0.05%

+15.43%

+10.4403

+10.3385

Euro/Sweden

EURSEK=

10.9169

10.9113

+0.05%

+6.72%

+10.9407

+10.8750

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World FX rates Link

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Additional reporting by Joice Alves and Kevin Buckland; Editing by Alexander Smith and Nick Zieminski