* Dollar broadly softer, slips to around 122.50 yen
* Geopolitical tensions spark rally in oil prices
* Commodity currencies among best performers
By Ian Chua
SYDNEY, Nov 25 (Reuters) - The dollar nursed broad losses early on Wednesday as investors cut crowded long positions in the lead-up to the Thanksgiving holidays, and amid heightened geopolitical tensions after Turkey downed a Russian warplane.
It was one of the most serious publicly acknowledged clashes between a NATO member country and Russia for half a century and prompted President Vladimir Putin to warm of "serious consequences". urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N13J14S
The dollar index .DXY slid to 99.615, recoiling from an eight-month peak of 100.000 set on Monday. Against the yen, the greenback dipped to a 1-1/2 week low of 122.31 JPY= and has since edged back to 122.57.
Investors generally shrugged off data showing the U.S. economy grew at a healthier clip in the third quarter than initially thought, an outcome that supported the case for the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates next month. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N13J0X2
"Robust U.S. domestic demand growth remains the main driver of U.S. economic activity and justifies a December Fed funds rate increase. Still, we expect the Fed's tightening cycle to be gradual which will limit significant USD upside," said Elias Haddad, senior currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank.
The euro rose as far as $1.0673 EUR= , before losing steam to last trade at $1.0646.
The greenback, however, rose against the Turkish lira to above 2.8700 TRYTOM=D3 . It initially firmed on the rouble, but ceded ground as the Russian currency benefited from a rally in oil prices.
Other commodity currencies also fared well. The Canadian dollar climbed to C$1.3306 per U.S. dollar CAD=D4 , pulling well away from Monday's trough of C$1.3436 per dollar.
The Australian dollar hit a one-month high of $0.7266 AUD=D4 . It was already bid after Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens, in a speech late on Tuesday, dampened expectations for further rate cuts. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nS9N0ZF02N
There is little in the way of major market moving data out of Asia on Wednesday. Minutes of the Bank of Japan's last meeting are due later in the morning, but no surprises are feared.