* Benchmark Treasury yield dips after rising past 1.7%
* Euro, sterling recoup early losses
* Yen weakens briefly after BOJ allows target yield more
leeway
* Bitcoin regroups around $58,000 after topping $60,000
overnight
(Adds details, comments.)
By Kevin Buckland and Sagarika Jaisinghani
TOKYO, March 19 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar gave up early
gains on Friday as Treasury yields dipped from near 14-month
highs, while investors digested the Federal Reserve's pushback
against expectations of any early interest-rate hikes.
The dollar index was down about 0.1% at 91.689 =USD after
rising as much as 0.2% in early Asian trading.
The euro EUR= gained versus the dollar after posting its
worst day in two weeks on Thursday. The British pound rose 0.1%
to $1.3951 GBP= .
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) pledged this week
to press on with aggressive monetary stimulus, saying a
near-term spike in inflation would prove temporary amid
projections for the strongest U.S economic growth in nearly 40
years.
The benchmark U.S. 10-year yield US10YT=RR climbed to a
more-than-one-year peak of 1.754% overnight before easing to
1.6821%.
"With the Fed looking for the unemployment rate to drop
below 5% this year and below 4% in 2023, it (is) difficult to
see how long the 10-year bond yield can hold below 2%," said
Chang Wei Liang, macro strategist at Singapore-based DBS Bank.
"Overall, the FOMC affirmed our decision on Monday to
upgrade the outlook for the dollar to push above 92 towards 94
by mid-year."
The yen dipped briefly after the Bank of Japan widened its
target band for the benchmark yield in a decision that was in
line with market expectations. The dollar was last down 0.1% at 108.760 yen JPY=EBS after
small gains overnight.
"There's no reason for dollar-yen to react to the latest
results of the BOJ assessment because it's almost in line with
what the media reported in advance," said Masafumi Yamamoto,
chief currency strategist at Mizuho Securities.
"For dollar-yen, U.S. Treasury yield change is a much more
important driver than the JGB yield change."
The euro EUR=EBS was up at $1.1935 after tumbling 0.5% on
Thursday.
While AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) vaccinations are poised to restart in
Germany, France and other European nations, the region's growth
outlook suffered as Paris went into a month-long lockdown.
In the cryptocurrency market, bitcoin BTC=BTSP stood at
around $57,530 after briefly topping $60,000 again overnight.
It had surged to a record high of $61,781.83 on Saturday,
after more than doubling since the start of the year.
"Bitcoin is a momentum trade and it feels like it could go a
lot further," said Edward Moya, a New York-based senior market
analyst at online FX broker OANDA. "Is it a bubble? Yes. But it
can easily go to $100,000 before it comes crashing down."
========================================================
Currency bid prices at 0803 GMT
Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid
Previous Change
Session
Euro/Dollar EUR=EBS $1.1934 $1.1916 +0.17% -2.31% +1.1937 +1.1902
Dollar/Yen JPY=D3 108.7200 108.9100 -0.16% +5.27% +109.1200 +108.7350
Euro/Yen EURJPY= 129.75 129.76 -0.01% +2.23% +129.9800 +129.6600
Dollar/Swiss CHF=EBS 0.9255 0.9274 -0.20% +4.61% +0.9284 +0.9254
Sterling/Dollar GBP=D3 1.3949 1.3932 +0.14% +2.12% +1.3956 +1.3893
Dollar/Canadian CAD=D3 1.2474 1.2486 -0.10% -2.04% +1.2511 +1.2463
Aussie/Dollar AUD=D3 0.7763 0.7762 +0.05% +0.95% +0.7767 +0.7724
NZ NZD=D3 0.7182 0.7168 +0.24% +0.06% +0.7187 +0.7151
Dollar/Dollar
All spots FX=
Tokyo spots AFX=
Europe spots EFX=
Volatilities FXVOL=
Tokyo Forex market info from BOJ TKYFX
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World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
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