Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Reuters
Reuters
Business
Jessica DiNapoli and Tom Wilson

Dollar roughly flat but close to 4-month highs on economic optimism

FILE PHOTO: U.S. one hundred dollar notes are seen in this picture illustration taken in Seoul February 7, 2011. REUTERS/Lee Jae-Won

(Corrects headline to months from years)

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The dollar was roughly flat against major currencies on Friday, but still near four-month peaks, on continued optimism about the U.S. economy, and came close to surpassing a 10-month high against the Japanese yen.

Against a basket of six major currencies, the greenback stood at 92.7200, on track to close out the week with a gain of about 0.7%. It was shrugging off data showing that consumer spending recently fell.

The dollar-yen also rose as high as 109.80, roughly the highest since June. Late on Friday, it was at 109.6400.

"The dollar has gotten a second wind," said Minh Trang, senior foreign exchange trader at Silicon Valley Bank, adding that the upward trend in the greenback "will come in spurts as bull markets do."

Yields on U.S. Treasuries rose but held below one-year highs reached last week. [nL1N2LO27M]

U.S. jobless claims fell to a one-year low last week and President Joe Biden said he would double his vaccination plan after reaching his previous goal of 100 million shots 42 days ahead of schedule, both of which support optimism about the dollar.

The euro managed to claw back ground from Thursday's four-month low, though the common currency is still bruised by doubts over the slow pace of vaccinations and rising infections.

In a boost for the euro, business morale in the euro zone's biggest economy Germany hit its highest level in almost two years in March as rising demand for manufactured goods kept factories humming.

Elsewhere, bitcoin gained more than 4%, helping recover some of its pullback from a record high of almost $62,000 touched earlier this month. It was last up 4.50% at $53,654.

(This story corrects headline to months from years)

(Reporting by Jessica DiNapoli and Tom Wilson, additional reporting by Stanley White in Tokyo; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Jonathan Oatis)

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.