Early trade in New York: dollar weakens broadly, hits 15-month low versus yen

The dollar fell across the board on Thursday, hitting a 15-month low against the yen, as negative sentiment around the US currency outweighed a rise in 10-year Treasury yields to their highest levels in four years. Analysts gave various explanations for the dollar's broad weakness, which came as the yield on the benchmark US government bond climbed towards 3 percent, and as stock markets and commodities rose. But most agreed it was a long-term trend.
"Forex markets rotate from theme to theme all the time. The theme right now is global growth and strong global growth has historically pushed the dollar lower," said Greg Anderson, global head of FX strategy at BMO Capital Markets in New York.
The greenback had briefly jumped on Wednesday after data showed US inflation was stronger than expected in January, bolstering expectations that the Federal Reserve could increase interest rates as many as four times this year.
But it quickly turned lower, eventually posting its worst daily performance in three weeks against a basket of major rivals. It added to those losses on Thursday, with the dollar index hitting a two-week low of 88.585. Against the yen, the dollar skidded as much as 0.8 percent from Wednesday's close to 106.15 yen, its lowest since November 2016.
The euro briefly climbed back above $1.251 for the first time in two weeks, trading up almost half a percent from its last close, before easing back to just below that level.