(Recasts with new prices, comments)
* Euro on the back foot
* Aussie, kiwi make three-year peaks
* Sterling gains as lockdown finish-line comes in to view
* Graphic: World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
By Julien Ponthus
LONDON, Feb 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar pared losses in
early European trading after hitting multi-year lows against
sterling and the Australian and New Zealand currencies as
vaccine progress, expectations for faster economic growth and
inflation sent bond yields higher.
Yields on 10-year U.S. US10YT=RR and German government
bonds hit one-year and eight-month highs respectively as traders
continued to play reflation trades.
The British pound GBP=D3 was holding the $1.40 line after
reaching 1.4043, its highest since April 2018, as Prime Minister
Boris Johnson charts a path out of lockdowns on the back of
rapid vaccinations.
The Aussie AUD=D3 rose as much as 0.5% to an almost
three-year high of $0.7908 before letting the dollar come back
to 0.7864.
The kiwi NZD=D3 hit $0.7338, also its best since early
2018, helped by S&P's upgrade of New Zealand's sovereign credit
ratings by a notch, but also saw the greenback gradually pare
most losses. The yen JPY=EBS lost 0.33% at 105.78 while the euro
EUR=EBS lost 0.2% at $1.2095 ahead of a German sentiment
survey and a speech at 1345 GMT by European Central Bank
President Christine Lagarde.
Commerzbank analyst Ulrich Leuchtmann argued that much at
stake for the relationship between the euro and the dollar lies
in the growth differential between the two economies.
"Where EUR-USD is going to go medium-term depends on whether
the U.S. economy really will be able to achieve a stronger
post-lockdown boom than Europe", he said, adding he expects the
common currency to suffer in that regard in the first half of
2021.
All in all, the U.S. dollar index =USD was up 0.28% at
90.543.
In the cryptocurrency market, bitcoin BTC=BTSP eased from
the record high of $58,354.14 hit during the weekend, retreating
to $56,039.
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Currency bid prices at 854835 GMT
Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid
Previous Change
Session
Euro/Dollar EUR=EBS $1.2097 $1.2118 -0.17% -0.99% +1.2135 +1.2092
Dollar/Yen JPY=D3 105.7950 105.4900 +0.27% +2.40% +105.8400 +105.5050
Euro/Yen EURJPY= 127.97 127.75 +0.17% +0.83% +128.2400 +127.7000
Dollar/Swiss CHF=EBS 0.9015 0.8965 +0.56% +1.90% +0.9023 +0.8962
Sterling/Dollar GBP=D3 1.3995 1.4001 -0.04% +2.44% +1.4051 +1.3980
Dollar/Canadian CAD=D3 1.2648 1.2619 +0.25% -0.65% +1.2653 +1.2581
Aussie/Dollar AUD=D3 0.7864 0.7868 -0.05% +2.23% +0.7908 +0.7855
NZ NZD=D3 0.7289 0.7297 -0.12% +1.49% +0.7337 +0.7282
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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