FOREX-U.S. dollar drops on Fed comments, stocks gain

* Fed's Bullard reaffirms low interest rates view

* ECB's Trichet, Paramo talk about exit strategy

* Dollar rises from 6-week low vs yen; Aussie, kiwi gain

* U.S. existing home sales surge 10.1 pct in Oct. (Updates prices, adds comment, changes byline)

By Wanfeng Zhou

NEW YORK, Nov 23 (Reuters) - The dollar fell against a basket of currencies on Monday after comments from a Federal Reserve official reinforced expectations U.S. interest rates would stay low for some time.

A rally in stock markets and gains in gold and oil prices also dented safe-haven demand for the dollar and lifted commodity-linked currencies like the Canadian and New Zealand dollars.

St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard on Sunday said the Fed should keep alive its mortgage-related assets purchase program beyond a planned end date to stimulate the economy. Investors saw the Fed keeping wider monetary policy accommodative for the foreseeable future. See [ID:nN22246631]

"Risk appetite is back ... with stocks up globally," said John Doyle, foreign-exchange strategist at Tempus Consulting in Washington. "Also weighing on the dollar was speculation that the Federal Reserve will keep stimulus measures in place for longer than many expect, ensuring that interest rates remain virtually zero," he added.

Low rates would limit returns on many U.S. investments, prompting investors to diversify out of the greenback and seek other riskier currencies and assets with higher yields.

In afternoon trading, the euro was up 0.7 percent at $1.4969 EUR=, after hitting a session high of $1.5001, according to Reuters data. The euro has struggled to stay above $1.50 in recent weeks.

Analysts said moves were exacerbated by thin liquidity with Tokyo markets shut and ahead of Thursday's U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.

The euro EURJPY=R rose 0.9 percent to 133.34 yen. The dollar gained 0.2 percent to 89.08 yen JPY= after hitting a six-week low of 88.58 yen, according to Reuters data.

An industry report showing U.S. existing home sales jumped to a more than 2-1/2-year high in October further spurred risk appetite and pressured the dollar. See [ID:nN23249040].

"The (housing) data adds to bearish U.S. dollar momentum, as stronger-than-expected home sales data is bullish for equity markets," said George Davis, chief technical strategist at RBC Capital Markets in Toronto.