(Revises, updates prices.)
* Dollar index falls again
* Euro back to January levels against dollar
* Australian dollar makes three-year peak
* Sterling near three-year highs as lockdown end comes in view
* Bitcoin pares losses of as much as 16%
* Graphic: World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
By David Henry
NEW YORK, Feb 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar resumed its slide on Monday and reached multi-year lows
against the British pound and the Australian dollar as traders focused on the promise of coronavirus
vaccinations and the outlooks for economic growth and inflation that could push bond yields higher.
The U.S. dollar index =USD was last down 0.3% in afternoon trading in New York at 90.046 and about
even for the year. The dollar has been trending down in February and has now given up about all of its
January recovery from a 2020 decline of nearly 7%.
The dollar's latest retreat comes with spreading belief that the U.S. will go farther than necessary to
support the economy with government spending and easy money policies and end up with too much inflation and
too much additional debt.
Looking for any sign that the U.S. Federal Reserve might become less dovish and more mindful of
inflation, markets will be watching testimony on Tuesday from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to the
Senate Banking Committee. The dollar's downtrend has come as the benchmark yield on 10-year Treasury notes has climbed to 1.37%
from 1.1% at end of January. The 10-year yield was relatively steady in trading on Monday in advance of
Powell's testimony, which will go into a second day on Wednesday before another committee.
"The dollar continues to wax and wane with U.S. data that have painted a mixed picture of the world's
biggest economy," Joe Manimbo, senior market analyst at Western Union Business Solutions, said in a note on
Monday. Weakness in U.S. employment has been undermining dollar rallies as markets see wavering jobs data
reinforcing the Federal Reserve's commitment to low interest rates, Manimbo added.
The euro EUR=EBS rose 0.4% against the dollar to $1.2162. Data on Monday showed German business morale
rose more than expected in February due notably to the country's resilient industrial sector. Exchange rates between the euro and dollar will depend "on whether the U.S. economy really will be able
to achieve a stronger post-lockdown boom than Europe," Commerzbank analyst Ulrich Leuchtmann said.
The British pound GBP=D3 was last up 0.5% to $1.4066 and the highest levels since April 2018 as Prime
Minister Boris Johnson announced a path out of lockdowns on the UK's relative success providing COVID-19
vaccinations. "We've clearly started to price in a lot of good news," said Ned Rumpeltin, head of European currency
strategy at TD Securities.
The U.S. dollar fell to three-year lows against the Australian dollar, which benefits from rising
commodity prices. The Aussie AUD=D3 was last up to $0.7917, at its highest levels since March 2018.
"Commodity currencies and the pound are particularly strong against the dollar, and this trend looks set
to continue," said Yukio Ishizuki, foreign exchange strategist at Daiwa Securities.
Australia on Monday began its mass COVID-19 vaccine programme as the country looked set to report no
local cases for the third straight day, which gave the Aussie a boost.
Bitcoin BTC=BTSP fell 6% on Monday to $53,866 after surging to a record high of $58,354 a day earlier.
The cryptocurrency pared losses as fallling as much as 16% on Monday and going as low as $47,400.
Currency bid prices at 3:12PM (2012 GMT)
Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid
Previous Change
Session
Dollar index =USD 90.0460 90.2910 -0.27% 0.072% +90.5780 +89.9900
Euro/Dollar EUR=EBS $1.2162 $1.2118 +0.36% -0.46% +$1.2170 +$1.2092
Dollar/Yen JPY=D3 105.0550 105.4900 -0.42% +1.70% +105.8400 +105.0000
Euro/Yen EURJPY= 127.78 127.75 +0.02% +0.68% +128.2400 +127.5100
Dollar/Swiss CHF=EBS 0.8959 0.8965 -0.06% +1.27% +0.9023 +0.8949
Sterling/Dollar GBP=D3 $1.4066 $1.4001 +0.47% +2.96% +$1.4085 +$1.3980
Dollar/Canadian CAD=D3 1.2608 1.2619 -0.08% -0.98% +1.2653 +1.2581
Aussie/Dollar AUD=D3 $0.7917 $0.7868 +0.64% +2.93% +$0.7929 +$0.7855
Euro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.0895 1.0859 +0.33% +0.81% +1.0915 +1.0863
Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.8645 0.8645 +0.00% -3.27% +0.8660 +0.8634
NZ NZD=D3 $0.7328 $0.7297 +0.44% +2.06% +$0.7343 +$0.7282
Dollar/Dollar
Dollar/Norway NOK=D3 8.4870 8.4760 +0.05% -1.24% +8.5375 +8.4370
Euro/Norway EURNOK= 10.3252 10.2642 +0.59% -1.35% +10.3299 +10.2173
Dollar/Sweden SEK= 8.2680 8.2786 +0.36% +0.87% +8.3080 +8.2526
Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 10.0559 10.0195 +0.36% -0.20% +10.0641 +10.0135
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World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
German IFO https://tmsnrt.rs/3pMf0kN
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