US dollar paused for breath

The U.S. dollar paused after its best performance this month against major peers as a firm U.S. labor market underpinned a Federal Reserve rate hike in one month.

The yen, which is highly sensitive to long-term U.S. bond yields, was able to pare back more than 1% of Monday’s decline as 10-year Treasury yields also paused after a sharp two-day advance in Tokyo trade. The Japanese currency came under additional pressure as the Bank of Japan’s new governor said he would stick to ultra-easy stimulus requirements for now.

The leading cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, hit $30,000 in June. Moreover, Bitcoin hit a 10-month high of $30,000 in Tuesday’s trading before last hitting $29,787.

The U.S. dollar index retreated 0.062% in early Asian trade, following a 0.38% gain earlier in the week.

The dollar was down 0.16% at 133.38 yen overnight after a 1.12% change.

Traders expect the 74% Fed to increase rates by another quarter point in May after statistics released on Good Friday showed U.S.A employers continued to hire at a strong pace in the last month, pushing the unemployment rate lower.

The consumer price index will be the next major step in Fed policy.

The ten-year Treasury yield hit 3.437% overnight before trading around 3.412% in Tokyo. They fell to 3,252% on Thursday.

The euro added 0.14% to $1.08746 after Monday’s 0.34% decline. Sterling advanced 0.11% to trade at $1.2397 after retreating 0.23% overnight.

The Aussie advanced 0.12%.

During the previous three-week period, the digital token was stuck between $26,500 and $29,400.