- Dollar index near 4 1/2-month high
- U.S. inflation seen picking up
- Kiwi falls after RBNZ says rates could go both ways
- Malaysia ringgit tumbles after election upset
The dollar held firm on Thursday after the 10-year U.S. bond yield rose back to the psychologically important 3 percent mark and investors looked to U.S. consumer price data due later to show a acceleration in inflation.
The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies .DXY =USD stood at 93.11 after hitting a 4 1/2-month high of 93.42, extending its gains from its April low to 4.7 percent.
"Rises in the U.S. interest rates are pushing the dollar higher," said Ayako Sera, market economist at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, noting that investor sentiment is stronger now than in February when worries about higher interest rates hit stock prices.
"At the moment, inflation is higher and there's no major risk-off factors, with even the U.S. exit from the Iran nuclear deal having a minor impact. In that kind of environment, interest rates differentials will end up being the main driver for the dollar," she said.
U.S. consumer price data due at 1230 GMT is expected to show the annual core CPI inflation to have risen to 2.2 percent in April, which would be highest in more than a year, from 2.1 percent in March.
U.S. producer price inflation on Wednesday was slightly weaker than expected, however, this had little impact on market sentiment.
The 10-year U.S. bond yield rose above 3 percent US10YT=RR on Wednesday, edging near its 2014 peak of 3.041 percent. It last stood at 2.990 percent.
The dollar stood little changed at 109.85 yen JPY= , but remained close to its three-month high of 110.05 yen touched on May 2.
The euro hit a 4-1/2 month low of $1.1823 on Wednesday, having fallen in six of the last seven sessions. It last traded at $1.1851 EUR= .
The British pound hovered above Monday's four-month low as traders expect the Bank of England to keep rates on hold at its meeting later in the day.
A recent run of weak UK economic data and renewed worries about Brexit have led markets to price out the possibility of a rate hike this month.
The pound last stood flat at $1.3548 GBP=D4 , not far from $1.3485 touched on Monday.
The New Zealand dollar shed as much as 0.9 percent to a five-month low of $0.6929 after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) held interest rates steady and said the next move in rates could just as easily be a cut as a hike.
"The RBNZ surprised markets with a slight dovish shift. It kept the OCR (official cash rate) on hold, as was widely expected, but notably allowed for the OCR to move 'up or down', rather than simply on hold – a slightly dovish development in our view," said Imre Speizer, economist at Westpac in Auckland.
The Malaysian ringgit fell 2.4 percent in the non-deliverable forward market, its biggest daily fall in a year and a half, after Malaysia's ruling coalition that has dominated the country for six decades was unexpectedly voted out of power.
An alliance of opposition parties led by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad clinched the simple majority required to rule.
