* Graphic: World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
By Ritvik Carvalho and Kevin Buckland
LONDON, April 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar skidded towards
a fourth straight weekly decline and its longest weekly streak
of losses since last July against a basket of major peers on
Friday, as the Federal Reserve stuck to its message of ultra-low
interest rates for longer.
The dollar index =USD was on course to end the week 0.2%
lower, bringing its losses for April to 2.7%. A four-week losing
streak would be the longest since the six-week slide to the end
of last July, and the monthly loss would also be the biggest
since July's 4% slump.
The Canadian dollar CAD=D3 climbed to a more-than
three-year high of C$1.2264 per greenback on Friday, on track
for a 1.6% weekly gain that would be its biggest since the start
of November.
At the conclusion of the Fed's latest policy meeting on
Wednesday, Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged the U.S. economy's
growth, but said there was not yet enough evidence of
"substantial further progress" toward recovery to warrant a
change to its ultra-loose monetary settings. That economic growth accelerated in the first quarter,
buoyed by government stimulus cheques, setting the course for
what is expected this year to be the strongest performance in
nearly four decades. Signs that a strengthening economy, particularly in the
labour market, might force the Fed into an earlier tapering of
its asset-purchase programme had pushed the dollar index, or
DXY, to a five-month high at the end of March.
"DXY may attempt a rebound in coming days as expectations
turn to a potentially blockbuster April payrolls next week, but
gains will prove short-lived with Fed officials to underscore
Powell's resolutely dovish stance," Westpac strategists wrote in
a client note.
The gauge is likely to drop below 90 in the near term, from
90.6 currently, but the "DXY's depreciation trend is likely more
of an ongoing grind than a wholesale sharp setback", they said.
The Fed's dovishness was in marked contrast to the Bank of
Canada, which has already begun to taper its asset purchases.
Canada's commodity-linked loonie got additional support from a
surge in oil to a six-week peak along with higher lumber prices.
Rising commodity prices also supported the Australian dollar
AUD=D3 , which gained 0.2% to $0.77785, climbing back toward a
six-week high of $0.78180 touched Thursday.
"We think the out-performance of pro-cyclical currencies
(those exposed to the global business cycle) should be a core
theme for the rest of the year, despite concerns about higher
U.S. yields," said Chris Turner, global head of markets at ING.
The euro EUR=EBS traded 0.2% lower at $1.21020, near the
two-month high of $1.2150 set the previous session. The shared
currency is up 0.2% for the week and 3.3% for the month.
The yen JPY=EBS , a traditional haven, also traded flat at
108.88 per dollar, near the two-week low of 109.22 from
Thursday, setting it up for a loss of about 0.9% for the week.
China's yuan CNH=D3 traded near its strongest since March
3 in the offshore market, last changing hands at 6.4711 per
dollar, even as gauges of Chinese factory activity showed a loss
of momentum in April. The yuan has jumped some 1.5% this month from a four-month
low of 6.5875 on April 1, but Mizuho strategist Ken Cheung wrote
in a client note that a re-pricing of growth trajectories for
China versus the United States would keep the rally in check
from here.
In cryptocurrencies, ether ETH=BTSP hovered below a record
high of $2,800.89 set on Thursday, after being lifted this week
on media reports about the European Investment Bank's plans to
launch a "digital bond" sale on the ethereum blockchain network.
"The use case of ethereum has just grown exponentially,"
particularly with wider use of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), said
Tim Frost, chief executive at fintech company YIELD App.
"All signs point to a continued bull market."
Bigger rival bitcoin BTC=BTSP traded at $54,343.80,
vacillating around that level this week after dipping as low as
$47,004.20 on Sunday, following a sharp retreat from the record
high of $64,895.22 marked in the middle of the month.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
Dollar heads for fourth weekly loss https://tmsnrt.rs/3b8GtJl
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>