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TOKYO — The dollar touched a one-month high

versus the yen on Wednesday, boosted by a climb in Treasury

yields to multi-year peaks overnight as traders wait on U.S.

inflation data this week for clues on the pace of Federal

Reserve policy tightening.

The euro continued to retreat from near a three-month high

to Japan’s currency after European Central Bank President

Christine Lagarde earlier this week tapped down expectations of

aggressive interest rate hikes.

A more hawkish tone from both the ECB and the Fed last week

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caught markets off guard and sent yields soaring on euro zone

and U.S. debt in anticipation rates could rise faster and higher

than previously expected.

The dollar rose at one point in early Asian trading to

115.69 yen, the highest since Jan. 10, before pulling

back to last trade 0.08% lower at 115.43.

The 10-year Treasury yield surged as high as 1.97% on

Tuesday for the first time since Nov. 2019.

The yield on the two-year note, which is more sensitive to

interest rate expectations, reached 1.347 for the first time

since February 2020.

Markets are pricing in more than a 70% chance of a 25 basis

point hike and a nearly 30% chance for a 50 basis point hike

when U.S. policymakers meet in March, according to CME’s

FedWatch Tool.

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High U.S. inflation may go even higher before getting

better, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said on Tuesday.

Consumer prices probably climbed 7.3% year-over-year in

January, economists polled by Reuters predict U.S. data will

show on Thursday.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback against

six major peers, edged 0.02% higher to 95.614, after bouncing

off a 2-1/2-week low of 95.136 reached Friday. It touched the

highest since June 2020 at 97.441 at the end of last month.

The dollar index is “in a holding pattern while markets

weigh up the prospect of an abrupt Fed policy tightening against

the ECB’s hawkish backflip,” Westpac strategists wrote in a

client note.

Although a more hawkish ECB will keep a lid on dollar gains

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near-term, the dollar’s “medium-term bull trend is still

intact,” and the dollar index is a buy on dips to the low 95

level, they wrote.

The ECB’s Lagarde said on Monday there was no need for

extensive tightening, trying to temper rising expectations for

aggressive action after she last week opened the door a crack to

a potential rate rise this year.

The euro was about flat at $1.1420, following its gradual

retreat from a peak of $1.1483 on Friday, which matched the

highest level in almost three months.

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Currency bid prices at 0144 GMT

Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid

Previous Change

Session

Euro/Dollar $1.1420 $1.1417 +0.03% +0.45% +1.1423 +1.1412

Dollar/Yen 115.4300 115.6100 -0.08% +0.44% +115.6250 +115.5200

Euro/Yen

Dollar/Swiss 0.9251 0.9252 -0.01% +1.41% +0.9254 +0.9250

Sterling/Dollar 1.3552 1.3547 +0.03% +0.20% +1.3553 +1.3543

Dollar/Canadian 1.2702 1.2702 +0.07% +0.53% +1.2715 +1.2702

Aussie/Dollar 0.7154 0.7146 +0.12% -1.58% +0.7154 +0.7142

NZ 0.6650 0.6648 -0.02% -2.89% +0.6653 +0.6642

Dollar/Dollar

All spots

Tokyo spots

Europe spots

Volatilities

Tokyo Forex market info from BOJ

(Reporting by Kevin Buckland; Editing by Sam Holmes)