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(Reuters) – TOKYO, July 1 (Reuters) – On Thursday, the dollar rose to a new 15-month high against the yen and lingered at multi-month highs against other major counterparts, ahead of a key U.S. employment report that should provide hints as to when the Federal Reserve would begin to reduce stimulus. The dollar climbed to 111.165 yen for the first time since March 26, 2020, before dropping back to 111.055 yen. The dollar index, which compares the greenback to six other currencies, remained slightly below a two-and-a-half-month high of 92.451 achieved on Wednesday, nudging up to 92.402. The Fed’s surprise hawkish move in the middle of that month, when officials signaled two interest rate hikes by the end of 2023, propelled the index to its highest month since November 2016. Traders are hoping for confirmation of that outlook in Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls report, with economists surveyed by Reuters anticipating a gain of 700,000 jobs last month, up from 559,000 in May, and an unemployment rate of 5.7 percent, down from 5.8 percent the previous month. The dollar gained more ground on Wednesday after data indicated that private payrolls in the United States expanded by 692,000 jobs in June, more than predicted. In a letter to clients, Chris Weston, head of research at broker Pepperstone in Melbourne, said, “I view the balance of risk skewed to an above-consensus print” for nonfarm payrolls. “Payrolls above 800,000 might raise US bond yields and put a price on the dollar.” “This might be a magnet to attract USD flow,” he said if the euro falls conclusively below present levels versus the dollar. “JPY seems uniformly weak,” he added. The euro fell to $1.1851 after falling to $1.1845 for the first time since April 6 on Wednesday. In Asia, the benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield continued to fall, falling to 1.4630 percent after a three-day drop. The spread of the highly contagious Delta version of COVID-19, which is jeopardizing the global reopening narrative, has boosted safe-haven assets including Treasuries, the dollar, and the yen. COVID-19 outbreaks are causing limitations in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Australia, and Spain and Portugal have issued restrictions for unvaccinated British tourists. The Australian dollar, which is used as a proxy for risk appetite, fell 0.2 percent to $0.7485, approaching a six-month low of $0.7478 set last week. The pound fell 0.1 percent to $1.3811, creeping closer to a two-month low of $1.37865. ======================================================== At 01:39 GMT, currency bid prices were as follows: Each and every location Locations in Tokyo Locations in Europe Volatilities BOJ provides information on the Tokyo foreign exchange market. Kevin Buckland contributed reporting, while Ana Nicolaci da Costa edited the piece. The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles are our standards./nRead More

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