TOKYO, April 12 — The dollar languished near 2-1/2-week lows against major peers today as a decline in Treasury yields restrained the US currency.
The British pound sank toward a two-month low, continuing its decline from a nearly three-year high reached in February, with analysts pointing to blood clot concerns around the AstraZeneca vaccine, which the UK has relied heavily on for its aggressive vaccination programme.
Bitcoin traded above US$60,000, closing the gap to its record high.
Both the dollar and Treasury yields are taking something of a breather after scaling multi-month peaks at the end of last month, powered by bets that an accelerating US recovery from the pandemic will lift inflation faster than Federal Reserve policymakers anticipate.
While the Fed’s repeated insistence that near-term price pressures will prove transitory has soothed investors this month, the dollar firmed on Friday following stronger-than-expected producer price data, taking the edge off the currency’s worst week this year.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six rivals, was little changed at 92.304 in Asia, following a 0.9 per cent slump last week. It dipped below 92 on Thursday for the first time since March 23.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was at 1.6622 per cent after dropping as low as 1.6170 per cent last week. It had surged to a more than one-year high of 1.7760 per cent on March 30.
“Key for the near-term outlook will be whether yields continue to consolidate around these levels, or march higher,”
which would support the dollar, National Australia Bank strategist Tapas Strickland wrote in a client note.
“The broader thematic of a rapid rebound in the US economy on the back of an impressive vaccine rollout continues.”
Data on Friday showed the largest annual gain in 9-1/2 years for US producer prices, backing expectations for higher inflation as the economy reopens amid an improved public health environment and massive government funding.
US consumer price data will be released tomorrow.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell speaks on Wednesday at the Economic Club of Washington. In an interview on Sunday on CBS’s “60 Minutes,” Powell said the US economy is at an “inflection point” with expectations that growth and hiring will pick up speed in the months ahead, but he also warned of risks stemming from a hasty reopening.
Against the euro, the dollar hovered near the lowest since March 23 at US$1.1901. It bought ¥109.66, close to a two-week low below 109 reached on Thursday.
“USD has some upside potential this week,” Commonwealth Bank of Australia strategist Kimberley Mundy wrote in a report.
“Strong US economic data will highlight the divergence between the US’s fast economic recovery and the more stunted recoveries in other developed economies.”
The dollar can lift back toward 110 yen, while the euro has scope to retrace most of that recent gains from its almost five-month low near US$1.17, she said.
The British pound slipped 0.2 per cent to US$1.36745, nearing Friday’s low of US$1.3670, a level not seen since February 8.
Bitcoin traded at US$60,102.69 after rising as high as US$61,222.22 over the weekend, approaching the record peak of US$61,781.83 set one month ago.
Miners have not been selling recently minted tokens at a time of greater demand from corporations and investors, according to Justin d’Anethan, sales manager at digital asset company Diginex in Hong Kong. — Reuters
