FOREX-Dollar holds above 2018 lows ahead of U.S. jobs report

* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E

By Iain Withers
LONDON, Jan 8 (Reuters) - The dollar held above a 2018 low
against other major currencies on Friday ahead of fresh U.S.
jobs data likely to give clues on the extent of fiscal stimulus
needed to prop up the coronavirus-hit economy.
The greenback bounced off a nearly three-year low on
Thursday as a rise in U.S. yields triggered some unwinding of
bearish bets on the currency, with traders taking profits
against the euro in particular.
Democrats won effective control of the Senate this week,
while chaos gripped Washington. Congressional Democrats on
Friday weighed impeaching President Donald Trump for a second
time after his false claims of election fraud helped encourage a
mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol. The Democrats' Senate seat wins give President-elect Joe
Biden scope to push through more spending, which analysts
predict will fuel risk appetite and be negative for bonds and
the dollar. "I think once this euphoria dies down, the dollar is likely
to resume its downtrend trend, because I don't think the Fed
will be so eager to taper," said Marshall Gittler, head of
investment research at BDSwiss, in a note.
"I think the U.S. employment picture is likely to lag that
of other countries and therefore the U.S. tightening cycle is
likely to lag. That makes the picture for the dollar negative,
in my view."
The dollar index dropped 7% in 2020 and as much as 0.9% in
the first few days of the new year on expectations of U.S.
fiscal stimulus.
On Friday, the index was up a quarter of a percent at
90.047, after its biggest gain in more than two months on
Thursday. It remains on track for a weekly decline. =USD
U.S. non-farm payrolls for December is due at 1330 GMT, with
the median expectation in a Reuters poll for +71,000 jobs, down
from +245,000 in November. Several major currencies weakened versus the dollar, with
the euro down as much as 0.5% at $1.22130 EUR=EBS , while the
Japanese yen touched a fresh three-week low of 104.090 yen
JPY=EPS .
Bitcoin BTC=BTSP slid around 2% to around $39,000, after
smashing through $40,000 for the first time on Thursday.