* U.S. rate hike bets pare back aggressive Fed tightening path

* Investors watching ECB annual forum in Sintra

* Markets on lookout for euro zone price data later in week

By Hannah Lang

WASHINGTON, June 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar struggled versus its major rivals on Monday as softening inflation expectations prompted a reassessment of the prospects for aggressive interest rate hikes but volatile markets cushioned a broader decline.

Aggressive rate hike bets have boosted the dollar with an index rising to a near two-decade high of 105.79 earlier this month. But with some high-frequency data indicators showing economic momentum starting to cool and a broader drop in commodity prices, investors are becoming cautious. .CESIUSD

"It's hard for Wall Street to confidently say there is a bottom in place, so a lot of traders are still looking to fade whatever rallies emerge," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA.

Against its rivals, the dollar =USD edged 0.12% lower to 103.9. Earlier this month, it hit 105.79, its highest since late 2002.

Futures pricing 0#FF: shows traders now anticipating the U.S. Federal Reserve's benchmark funds rate stabilizing around 3.5% from March next year, a pullback from pricing in rates zooming to around 4% in 2023.

"Today is a consolidation day," said Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex LLC.

"I think that we're just waiting for more data, and that data comes out later this week," he added, pointing to a readout expected on Friday detailing consumer prices in the euro zone.

Meanwhile, the euro was buoyed by expectations that the European Central Bank will soon raise interest rates for the first time in more than a decade.

"Everyone is looking forward to this first rate hike that we're going to get from the ECB, and I think that the risks of a dovish hike are fading," said Moya.

The euro was up 0.27% at $1.0587.

The euro EUR=EBS led gainers versus the dollar as the European Central Bank's annual forum on central banking in Sintra, Portugal, got under way with ECB President Christine Lagarde and U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell both attending the meeting. Markets will watch for any signs of future policy moves.

Commodity currencies came under pressure on Monday as data showed profits at China's industrial firms shrank again, albeit at a slower pace, in May after a sharp fall in April.

Elsewhere, Russia's rouble RUB= weakened in the interbank market as Russia headed for its first sovereign default since the Bolshevik revolution a century ago.

Cryptocurrencies stumbled, with the world's biggest cryptocurrency Bitcoin BTC= down 1.7% trading at $20,810.34. It fell to as low as $17,588.88 earlier this month.

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Currency bid prices at 3:26PM (1926 GMT) Description

RIC

Last

U.S. Close Pct Change

YTD Pct

High Bid

Low Bid

Previous

Change

Session

Dollar index

=USD

103.9000

104.0300

-0.12%

8.610%

+104.2100 +103.6600 Euro/Dollar

EUR=EBS

$1.0587

$1.0558

+0.27%

-6.88%

+$1.0615

+$1.0550 Dollar/Yen

JPY=EBS

135.4450

135.2100

+0.17%

+17.66%

+135.5400 +134.5300 Euro/Yen

EURJPY=

143.40

142.69

+0.50%

+10.04%

+143.4800 +142.0600 Dollar/Swiss

CHF=EBS

0.9562

0.9586

-0.22%

+4.85%

+0.9620

+0.9549 Sterling/Dollar GBP=D3

$1.2278

$1.2273

+0.07%

-9.19%

+$1.2332

+$1.2239 Dollar/Canadian CAD=D3

1.2878

1.2888

-0.07%

+1.86%

+1.2916

+1.2865 Aussie/Dollar

AUD=D3

$0.6925

$0.6941

-0.22%

-4.72%

+$0.6958

+$0.6906 Euro/Swiss

EURCHF=

1.0122

1.0113

+0.09%

-2.38%

+1.0157

+1.0104 Euro/Sterling

EURGBP=

0.8621

0.8601

+0.23%

+2.63%

+0.8627

+0.8578 NZ

NZD=D3

$0.6297

$0.6314

-0.29%

-8.01%

+$0.6326

+$0.6283 Dollar/Dollar

Dollar/Norway

NOK=D3

9.7880

9.8545

-0.57%

+11.23%

+9.8810

+9.7740 Euro/Norway

EURNOK=

10.3671

10.3937

-0.26%

+3.54%

+10.4415

+10.3601 Dollar/Sweden

SEK=

10.0809

10.1325

-0.10%

+11.79%

+10.1422

+10.0480 Euro/Sweden

EURSEK=

10.6734

10.6842

-0.10%

+4.29%

+10.7092

+10.6439

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World FX rates Link

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Reporting Hannah Lang in Washington; additional reporting by
Saikat Chatterjee in London; Editing by Muralikumar
Anantharaman, Jane Merriman and Susan Fenton