* Dollar ends week with 0.5% loss
* Bitcoin falls, but set for 20% weekly rise
* Traders reassess pace of U.S. recovery on weak jobs data
* Graphic: World FX rates tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
(Recasts, adds new comment, updates prices)
By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
NEW YORK, Feb 12 (Reuters) - The dollar was slightly higher on Friday, coming off its strongest level
for the day, as risk appetite returned to the market in the afternoon with U.S. equities recovering from
early losses and Treasury yields extending their rise.
Investors also consolidated gains made on other currencies at the expense of the dollar ahead of a long
weekend in the United States. Financial markets are closed on Monday for Presidents Day.
The outlook for the dollar remained lower, according to Marshall Gittler, head of investment research at
BDSwiss Group.
The dollar is "considered the safest of safe havens and tends to fall when people are not looking for
safe havens," Gittler said. "With markets rallying and the U.S. Fed on hold indefinitely, I expect the
dollar to be widely used as a funding currency, pushing its value down."
Bitcoin, meanwhile, was down 1.3% on the day at $47,356, after hitting a record high of
$49,000. It posted gains of roughly 20% in a milestone week marked by the endorsement of major firms such as
Elon Musk's Tesla.
The world's most popular cryptocurrency hit a record high overnight after U.S. banking group BNY Mellon
said it had formed a unit to help clients hold, transfer and issue digital assets.
In afternoon trading, the dollar index rose 0.1% to 90.494 after subdued volumes in Asia because
of the Lunar New Year. On the week, the index fell 0.6%, its first losing week in three - in what ING
analysts described as a "consolidative mood" amid uncertainty about the pace of the U.S. economic recovery.
Weaker-than-expected weekly U.S. jobless claims data on Thursday added to concerns the dollar's previous
rally had priced in too fast an economic rebound.
The dollar was up 0.2% against the yen at 104.97 yen. It fell 0.4% on the week, its steepest
fall since mid-December.
There has been a divergence in views among traders so far this year over how U.S. President Joe Biden's
planned $1.9 trillion fiscal stimulus package will affect the dollar.
Some see it as bolstering the currency as it should speed a U.S. recovery relative to other countries,
while others reckon it would feed a global reflation narrative that should lift riskier assets at the
dollar's expense.
The euro slipped 0.1% to $1.2116, but on the week, the single European currency rose 0.5%.
The British pound rose 0.2% versus the dollar to $1.3848, despite data showing Britain's
economy suffered a record slump in 2020, although it did grow in the final quarter.
The Australian dollar, a proxy for risk appetite, rallied from lows to trade flat on the day at
US$0.7753. The New Zealand dollar likewise cut its losses against the greenback.
========================================================
Currency bid prices at 3:23PM (2023 GMT)
Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid
Previous Change
Session
Dollar index 90.4710 90.4120 +0.08% 0.545% +90.7410 +90.3780
Euro/Dollar $1.2114 $1.2133 -0.15% -0.85% +$1.2135 +$1.2082
Dollar/Yen 104.9650 104.7300 +0.19% +1.59% +105.1750 +104.7850
Euro/Yen 127.17 127.05 +0.09% +0.20% +127.3200 +126.9900
Dollar/Swiss 0.8921 0.8898 +0.27% +0.85% +0.8940 +0.8901
Sterling/Dollar $1.3848 $1.3816 +0.22% +1.35% +$1.3862 +$1.3776
Dollar/Canadian 1.2704 1.2703 +0.02% -0.23% +1.2762 +1.2677
Aussie/Dollar $0.7754 $0.7755 -0.01% +0.79% +$0.7764 +$0.7719
Euro/Swiss 1.0807 1.0794 +0.12% +0.00% +1.0809 +1.0788
Euro/Sterling 0.8746 0.8778 -0.36% -2.14% +0.8792 +0.8744
NZ $0.7217 $0.7227 -0.12% +0.52% +$0.7232 +$0.7178
Dollar/Dollar
Dollar/Norway 8.4665 8.4790 -0.22% -1.47% +8.5140 +8.4515
Euro/Norway 10.2582 10.2840 -0.25% -1.99% +10.3140 +10.2469
Dollar/Sweden 8.3133 8.3238 -0.16% +1.43% +8.3462 +8.3008
Euro/Sweden 10.0714 10.0871 -0.16% -0.05% +10.1137 +10.0670
(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Steve Orlofsky and Sonya Hepinstall)
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