* Benchmark Treasury yield rose past 1.7% to new 13-month
peak
* Yen weakens briefly after BOJ allows target yield more
leeway
* Bitcoin regroups around $58,000 after topping $60,000
overnight
By Kevin Buckland and Sagarika Jaisinghani
TOKYO, March 19 (Reuters) - The safe-haven U.S. dollar held
firmer on Friday, supported by higher Treasury yields and
falling stock markets, as investors digested the Federal
Reserve's pushback against expectations of any early
interest-rate hikes.
The dollar index =USD was slightly higher following a 0.5%
jump from Thursday that was the most in two weeks.
The benchmark U.S. 10-year yield US10YT=RR climbed to a
more than one-year peak of 1.754% overnight before easing to
1.706%, while Asian stocks followed Wall Street lower.
The yen dipped briefly after the Bank of Japan widened its
target band for the benchmark yield in a decision that was in
line with market expectations. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) pledged this week
to press on with aggressive monetary stimulus, saying a
near-term spike in inflation would prove temporary amid their
projections for the strongest U.S economic growth in nearly 40
years.
"After some navel gazing," bond investors "concluded that
the Fed is not (posing) any challenges or discomfort for
longer-dated UST yields to keep pushing higher," National
Australia Bank's senior FX strategist Rodrigo Catril wrote in a
client note.
"The USD regained its mojo."
The greenback was flat at 108.895 yen JPY=EBS , adding to
small gains overnight.
Following the BOJ's decision to widen the target band for
the 10-year Japanese government bond yield to 25 basis points
around 0% from 20 basis points previously, the yen briefly
weakened past 109 per dollar, before retracing all of that move.
"There's no reason for dollar-yen to react to the latest
results of the BOJ assessment because it's almost in line with
what the media reported in advance," said Masafumi Yamamoto,
chief currency strategist at Mizuho Securities.
"For dollar-yen, U.S. Treasury yield change is a much more
important driver than the JGB yield change."
The euro EUR=EBS was slightly weaker at $1.1915, extending
Thursday's 0.5% tumble.
While AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) vaccinations are poised to restart in
Germany, France and other European nations, the region's growth
outlook was dinged as Paris went into a month-long lockdown.
The British pound GBP=D3 sank 0.1% to $1.3913 after
weakening 0.3% a day earlier, as the Bank of England warned the
outlook for Britain's recovery remained unclear, dampening some
speculation the bank would signal a more confident outlook.
In the cryptocurrency market, bitcoin BTC=BTSP stood at
around $57,800, as it seesawed after briefly topping $60,000
again overnight.
It had surged to a fresh record high of $61,781.83 on
Saturday, after more than doubling since the start of the year.
"Bitcoin is a momentum trade and it feels like it could go a
lot further," said Edward Moya, a New York-based senior market
analyst at online FX broker OANDA.
"Is it a bubble? Yes. But it can easily go to $100,000
before it comes crashing down."
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Currency bid prices at 409 GMT
Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid
Previous Change
Session
Euro/Dollar EUR=EBS $1.1914 $1.1916 -0.03% -2.50% +1.1921 +1.1902
Dollar/Yen JPY=D3 108.8900 108.9100 -0.04% +5.40% +109.1170 +108.8600
Euro/Yen EURJPY= 129.74 129.76 -0.02% +2.22% +129.9800 +129.7000
Dollar/Swiss CHF=EBS 0.9271 0.9274 -0.01% +4.82% +0.9284 +0.9273
Sterling/Dollar GBP=D3 1.3913 1.3932 -0.12% +1.85% +1.3931 +1.3893
Dollar/Canadian CAD=D3 1.2499 1.2486 +0.12% -1.83% +1.2510 +1.2484
Aussie/Dollar AUD=D3 0.7743 0.7762 -0.23% +0.66% +0.7762 +0.7724
NZ NZD=D3 0.7165 0.7168 -0.03% -0.21% +0.7171 +0.7151
Dollar/Dollar
All spots FX=
Tokyo spots AFX=
Europe spots EFX=
Volatilities FXVOL=
Tokyo Forex market info from BOJ TKYFX
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World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
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