(Revises, updates prices.)
* Dollar index falls again
* Euro back to January levels against dollar
* Australian dollar makes three-year peak
* Sterling near three-year highs as lockdown end comes in view
* Bitcoin pares losses of as much as 16%
* Graphic: World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
By David Henry
NEW YORK, Feb 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar resumed its slide on Monday and reached multi-year lows against the British pound and the Australian dollar as traders focused on the promise of coronavirus vaccinations and the outlooks for economic growth and inflation that could push bond yields higher.
The U.S. dollar index =USD was last down 0.3% in afternoon trading in New York at 90.046 and about even for the year. The dollar has been trending down in February and has now given up about all of its January recovery from a 2020 decline of nearly 7%.
The dollar's latest retreat comes with spreading belief that the U.S. will go farther than necessary to support the economy with government spending and easy money policies and end up with too much inflation and too much additional debt.
Looking for any sign that the U.S. Federal Reserve might become less dovish and more mindful of inflation, markets will be watching testimony on Tuesday from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to the Senate Banking Committee. dollar's downtrend has come as the benchmark yield on 10-year Treasury notes has climbed to 1.37% from 1.1% at end of January. The 10-year yield was relatively steady in trading on Monday in advance of Powell's testimony, which will go into a second day on Wednesday before another committee.
"The dollar continues to wax and wane with U.S. data that have painted a mixed picture of the world's biggest economy," Joe Manimbo, senior market analyst at Western Union Business Solutions, said in a note on Monday. Weakness in U.S. employment has been undermining dollar rallies as markets see wavering jobs data reinforcing the Federal Reserve's commitment to low interest rates, Manimbo added.
The euro EUR=EBS rose 0.4% against the dollar to $1.2162. Data on Monday showed German business morale rose more than expected in February due notably to the country's resilient industrial sector. rates between the euro and dollar will depend "on whether the U.S. economy really will be able to achieve a stronger post-lockdown boom than Europe," Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) analyst Ulrich Leuchtmann said.
The British pound GBP=D3 was last up 0.5% to $1.4066 and the highest levels since April 2018 as Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a path out of lockdowns on the UK's relative success providing COVID-19 vaccinations. clearly started to price in a lot of good news," said Ned Rumpeltin, head of European currency strategy at TD Securities.
The U.S. dollar fell to three-year lows against the Australian dollar, which benefits from rising commodity prices. The Aussie AUD=D3 was last up to $0.7917, at its highest levels since March 2018.
"Commodity currencies and the pound are particularly strong against the dollar, and this trend looks set to continue," said Yukio Ishizuki, foreign exchange strategist at Daiwa Securities.
Australia on Monday began its mass COVID-19 vaccine programme as the country looked set to report no local cases for the third straight day, which gave the Aussie a boost. BTC=BTSP fell 6% on Monday to $53,866 after surging to a record high of $58,354 a day earlier. The cryptocurrency pared losses as fallling as much as 16% on Monday and going as low as $47,400. bid prices at 3:12PM (2012 GMT) Description
RIC
Last
U.S. Close Pct Change
YTD Pct
High Bid
Low Bid
Previous
Change
Session
Dollar index
=USD
90.0460
90.2910
-0.27%
0.072%
+90.5780
+89.9900 Euro/Dollar
EUR=EBS
$1.2162
$1.2118
+0.36%
-0.46%
+$1.2170
+$1.2092 Dollar/Yen
JPY=D3
105.0550
105.4900
-0.42%
+1.70%
+105.8400 +105.0000 Euro/Yen
EURJPY=
127.78
127.75
+0.02%
+0.68%
+128.2400 +127.5100 Dollar/Swiss
0.8959
0.8965
-0.06%
+1.27%
+0.9023
+0.8949 Sterling/Dollar GBP=D3
$1.4066
$1.4001
+0.47%
+2.96%
+$1.4085
+$1.3980 Dollar/Canadian CAD=D3
1.2608
1.2619
-0.08%
-0.98%
+1.2653
+1.2581 Aussie/Dollar
AUD=D3
$0.7917
$0.7868
+0.64%
+2.93%
+$0.7929
+$0.7855 Euro/Swiss
EURCHF=
1.0895
1.0859
+0.33%
+0.81%
+1.0915
+1.0863 Euro/Sterling
EURGBP=
0.8645
0.8645
+0.00%
-3.27%
+0.8660
+0.8634 NZ
NZD=D3
$0.7328
$0.7297
+0.44%
+2.06%
+$0.7343
+$0.7282 Dollar/Dollar
Dollar/Norway
NOK=D3
8.4870
8.4760
+0.05%
-1.24%
+8.5375
+8.4370 Euro/Norway
EURNOK=
10.3252
10.2642
+0.59%
-1.35%
+10.3299
+10.2173 Dollar/Sweden
8.2680
8.2786
+0.36%
+0.87%
+8.3080
+8.2526 Euro/Sweden
EURSEK=
10.0559
10.0195
+0.36%
-0.20%
+10.0641
+10.0135
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ World FX rates
https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E German IFO
https://tmsnrt.rs/3pMf0kN
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>