FOREX-Dollar buoyed by rising U.S. yields amid new stimulus prospects

    * Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E

    By Kevin Buckland
    TOKYO, Jan 12 (Reuters) - The dollar held four days of gains
against major peers on Tuesday as the prospect of massive fiscal
stimulus pushed U.S. yields higher.
    President-elect Joe Biden, who takes office on Jan. 20 with
his Democratic party in control of both Houses, has promised
"trillions" in extra pandemic-relief spending.
    The dollar index has rebounded from a nearly three-year low
reached last week as the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield
topped 1% for the first time since March and rose as high as
1.148% overnight.
    The support from rising yields has so far trumped worries
that the extra spending could trigger faster inflation, which
ordinarily would make the greenback less attractive.
    Many analysts expect the U.S. currency to resume the decline
that saw the dollar index lose close to 7% in 2020 amid better
risk sentiment stimulus spending and vaccine rollouts brighten
the global economic outlook.
    "It's complicated because higher U.S. yields are giving the
dollar a bounce, but stimulus could support U.S. equities, and
the dollar would remain weak," said Osamu Takashima, head of G10
FX strategy at Citigroup Global Markets Japan in Tokyo.
    "In the medium-term, we remain bearish on the dollar. Dollar
assets look expensive."
    Speculators in the FX market are extremely bearish on the
dollar, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data released
on Friday showed.
    The dollar index was little changed at 90.514 in
early Asian trading, having risen as high as 90.73 overnight for
the first time since Dec. 21. It dipped to 89.206 on Jan. 6, a
level not seen since March 2018.
    The greenback slipped 0.1% to 104.175 yen, after rising to a
one-month high of 104.40 on Monday.
    The euro was largely steady at $1.2151 after slipping to
1.21320 in the previous session for the first time since Dec.
21.
    Meanwhile, bitcoin was trading below $35,000 as its red-hot
rally has faltered since it soared to an all-time high of
$42,000 on Jan. 8.
    
========================================================
    Currency bid prices at 9:40AM (040 GMT)
 Description      RIC         Last           U.S. Close  Pct Change     YTD Pct     High Bid    Low Bid
                                              Previous                   Change                 
                                              Session                                           
 Euro/Dollar                  $1.2154        $1.2150     +0.03%         -0.53%      +1.2161     +1.2150
 Dollar/Yen                   104.1620       104.1500    -0.02%         +0.81%      +104.2100   +104.1300
 Euro/Yen                     126.61         126.67      -0.05%         -0.24%      +126.6900   +126.5800
 Dollar/Swiss                 0.8905         0.8904      +0.01%         +0.66%      +0.8906     +0.8897
 Sterling/Dollar              1.3509         1.3515      -0.03%         -1.11%      +1.3525     +1.3510
 Dollar/Canadian              1.2779         1.2786      -0.08%         +0.33%      +1.2782     +1.2772
 Aussie/Dollar                0.7700         0.7695      +0.08%         +0.11%      +0.7710     +0.7696
 NZ                           0.7165         0.7160      +0.10%         -0.20%      +0.7175     +0.7163
 Dollar/Dollar All spots
Tokyo spots
Europe spots 
Volatilities 
Tokyo Forex market info from BOJ 

 (Reporting by Kevin Buckland; Editing by Sam Holmes)