* Surge in long-term Treasury yields supports dollar
* But lingering 'Trump risk' concerns seen limiting gains
* Turkey's lira buoyant after call for early snap elections
By Shinichi Saoshiro
TOKYO, April 19 (Reuters) - The dollar was steady against a basket of its peers on Thursday, supported by higher long-term U.S. Treasury yields on improving investor appetite for risk assets, though lingering concerns over U.S.-China trade tensions checked the greenback.
The dollar index against a group of six major currencies was flat at 89.635 .DXY after edging up 0.1 percent on Wednesday.
The U.S. currency was steady at 107.250 yen JPY= having advanced 0.2 percent the previous day.
However, the dollar's gains were limited given the scope of the rise by the 10-year Treasury note yield US10YT=RR , which climbed more than 5 basis points overnight for its biggest one-day surge since March 2.
"The dollar, particularly against the yen, has began re-establishing a correlation with widening yield differentials this month," said Junichi Ishikawa, senior FX strategist at IG Securities in Tokyo.
"While the spreads between U.S. yields and those in Japan and the euro zone continue to widen, the dollar cannot take full advantage due to lingering 'Trump risk'," Ishikawa said.
Ishikawa was referring to the broad uncertainty stemming from U.S. President Donald Trump's trade and economic policies, as well as geopolitical posturing in the Middle East and elsewhere. The U.S.-China tariff standoff has heightened volatility in financial markets over the past month.
The yen showed little response to the U.S.-Japan summit, at which Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed to intensify trade consultations between the two longtime allies. euro inched up 0.05 percent to $1.2381 EUR= after eking out small gains the previous day.
Turkey's lira stood tall after rallying more than 2 percent against the dollar overnight after the country's president Tayip Erdogan called snap elections for June 24.
The lira was supported as Erdogan's call for early elections was seen as the government's recognition for the need for tighter monetary policy to combat inflation. lira last stood at 4.019 against the dollar TRYTOM=D3 . (Editing by Shri Navaratnam)