Dollar extends four-month high as recovery outlooks diverge

The dollar hit a new four-month high against the euro on Thursday as the U.S. pandemic response outpaced Europe’s, with the latter hobbled by lockdowns and slow vaccine rollouts.

The euro stood near a four-month low of $1.1809 hit in Asian trade. The dollar index lingered below a four-month peak of 92.617 hit overnight. 

The dollar rose 0.2% to 108.905 against the yen, another safe-haven currency. The Aussie climbed 0.3% after earlier sliding to $0.7579, its lowest since Feb. 2. 

The pound gained 0.2% after rising out of a six-week low of $1.3675. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yields consolidated at 1.6%, a week after hitting a more than one-year peak of  1.754%. 

In cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin fell below $52,000 in Asian trade before climbing back to $52,123. It briefly hit $57,000 overnight after Tesla Inc boss Elon Musk said consumers can now purchase the company’s electric car with the crypto coin.