* Graphic: World FX rates tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
By Kevin Buckland
TOKYO, March 31 (Reuters) - The dollar rose to a fresh
one-year high versus the yen and traded near multi-month peaks
with other rivals on Wednesday as investors bet that massive
fiscal stimulus and aggressive vaccinations will help the U.S.
lead a global pandemic recovery.
President Joe Biden is set to outline later on Wednesday how
he intends to pay for a $3-$4 trillion infrastructure plan,
after earlier this week saying 90% of adult Americans would be
eligible for vaccination by April 19.
The dollar index held above 93 after surging as high
as 93.357 on Tuesday. It has climbed from close to 90 at the
start of March, on course for its best month since 2016.
The greenback set a fresh one-year top of 110.48 yen
early in Wednesday's Asian session, and hovered near Tuesday's
almost five-month high of $1.1711 per euro.
"U.S. economic outperformance can continue to underpin the
USD in the near term," Commonwealth Bank of Australia currency
strategist Carol Kong wrote in a client note.
"JPY will be driven by the general USD strengthening trend,"
potentially rising to 113 by year-end, she said.
The dollar was also supported from a spike in U.S. bond
yields, which make the currency more attractive as an
investment.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note
jumped to a one-year high of 1.776% on Tuesday.
Investors will watch closely monthly U.S. nonfarm payrolls
data on Friday, with Federal Reserve policymakers so far citing
slack in the jobs market for their continued lower-for-longer
stance on interest rates, which has boosted the growth outlook
but also stoked worries about inflation.
Data overnight showed U.S. consumer confidence soared this
month to the highest since the start of the pandemic, supporting
views that economic growth will accelerate in the coming months,
driven by more fiscal stimulus and an improving public health
situation.
Australia's dollar edged up to $0.7608, consolidating
after its drop to $0.7564 last week, the lowest level seen this
year.
The Chinese yuan traded around 6.57 per dollar in the
offshore market, from the weakest since November at 6.5838,
touched on both Monday and Tuesday.
Bitcoin traded just below $59,000, trying to close the
distance to the record peak at $61,781.83 set earlier this
month.
PayPal Holdings said Tuesday it launched a
"Checkout with Crypto" service, which will allow U.S. users to
use their cryptocurrency holdings to pay online merchants
globally.
========================================================
Currency bid prices at 042 GMT
Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid
Previous Change
Session
Euro/Dollar $1.1722 $1.1716 +0.06% -4.05% +1.1726 +1.1714
Dollar/Yen 110.6050 110.3400 +0.25% +7.09% +110.6070 +110.4500
Euro/Yen 129.65 129.28 +0.29% +2.15% +129.6500 +129.2600
Dollar/Swiss 0.9428 0.9419 +0.06% +6.53% +0.9428 +0.9425
Sterling/Dollar 1.3740 1.3742 +0.03% +0.61% +1.3747 +1.3738
Dollar/Canadian 1.2614 1.2629 -0.11% -0.93% +1.2628 +1.2615
Aussie/Dollar 0.7611 0.7597 +0.20% -1.05% +0.7615 +0.7595
NZ 0.6988 0.6983 +0.11% -2.65% +0.6995 +0.6983
Dollar/Dollar All spots
Tokyo spots
Europe spots
Volatilities
Tokyo Forex market info from BOJ
(Reporting by Kevin Buckland; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
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