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Dollar pinned down by lower U.S. yields, inflation data in focus

Monday,   12-Apr-2021   08:43 AM (IST)

The dollar languished near 2-1/2-week lows against major peers on Monday as a decline in Treasury yields restrained the U.S. currency. Both the greenback and bond yields are taking something of a breather after scaling multi-month peaks at the end of last month, powered by bets that an accelerating U.S. 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 somewhat soothed investors, 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 92.193 early in the Asian session, following a 0.9% slump last week. It dipped below 92 on Thursday for the first time since March 23. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was at 1.6745% after dropping as low as 1.6170% last week. It had surged to a more than one-year high of 1.7760% on March 30. Data on Friday showed the largest annual gain in 9-1/2 years for U.S. producer prices, backing expectations for higher inflation as the economy reopens amid an improved public health environment and massive government funding. U.S. consumer price data will be released Tuesday. 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 U.S. 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 $1.1901. In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin traded near $60,000 after rising as high as $61,222.22 over the weekend, closing the gap to the record peak of $61,781.83 set one month ago.