Dollar sets four-month high vs yen, buoyed by rising U.S. yields

By Masayuki Kitano

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The dollar edged higher against the yen on Friday and set a fresh four-month high, buoyed by a rise in U.S. Treasury yields that suggests a more upbeat outlook for the world’s largest economy.

U.S. benchmark 10-year yields () hit a high of 3.128 percent in early Asian trade on Friday, the highest in nearly seven years.

The U.S. 10-year bond yield has climbed about 15 basis points this week, putting it on track for its biggest weekly rise in more than three months.

The rising yields reflect continued optimism about the U.S. economy, reinforcing expectations that the Federal Reserve would raise borrowing rates at least two more times this year and lifting the greenback.

“Moves in U.S. yields remain the focus. If they rise further the dollar could strengthen on the back of that and pull the dollar higher against the yen,” said Shinichiro Kadota, senior strategist at Barclays (LON:) in Tokyo.

The dollar edged up 0.2 percent to 110.975 yen , reaching its highest levels since Jan. 23.The dollar’s index against a basket of six major currencies stood at 93.468 (), trading within sight of a five-month high of 93.632 set earlier this week.

The euro inched up 0.1 percent to $1.1805 (). On Wednesday it had set a five-month low of $1.1763 as it came under pressure on concerns about the demands of populist parties likely to form Italy’s next government.

Italian markets had been jolted on Wednesday by a draft coalition document showing plans to ask the European Central Bank to forgive 250 billion euros in debt, and create procedures to allow countries to exit the euro.

But broader Italian markets held up better on Thursday as investors played down the broader impact on euro zone political stability and questioned whether the Italian parties would really follow through on such plans.

On Thursday, the far-right League and 5-Star Movement agreed the basis for a governing accord that would slash taxes and ramp up welfare spending.

A 5-Star source said the program contained no reference to a possible exit from the euro.

The euro has slumped six cents from more than $1.24 in about a month, after a huge dollar rally. Investors are betting U.S. interest rates will need to rise further, while other central banks are postponing monetary tightening.

That has forced investors who took big positions against the dollar anticipating a fall in 2018 to unwind and cover their positions, pushing the green back even higher.

Disclaimer: Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. All CFDs (stocks, indexes, futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Therefore Fusion Media doesn`t bear any responsibility for any trading losses you might incur as a result of using this data.

Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.