U.S. Dollar Gains against Yen/Euro on Higher Treasury Yields

In Tokyo trading today, the U.S. Dollar continued to gain versus the Japanese Yen, touching on a 2-month high, and the single currency Euro, which has been under recent pressure. As reported at 2:13 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the U.S. Dollar was trading at 91.39 Yen, an increase of .2%; earlier in the day it had traded on the EBS platform at 91.49 Yen, the highest trade in more than two months. Versus the Euro, the U.S. Dollar held steady near $1.4293, just off a 3½ month high established last week. The U.S. Dollar Index, a measure of the U.S. currency’s value versus a basket of six major currencies, steadied at 78.04 .DXY, near the 3-month peak of 78.144 .DXY established yesterday.

Market players attribute the greenback’s movement to position unwinding and higher yields on U.S. Treasury products. The strong growth of the U.S. economy pushed the 10-year benchmark Treasury Note yield to nearly 3.70%, the highest in 4-months and leads many investors to speculate as to whether or not the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank will change their current loose monetary policy and raise interest rates. One currency strategist in Sydney suggests that if any policy tightening is conducted by the Fed, it would likely be around the third quarter of 2010.