Dollar gains put on hold, sterling looks to BoE for cues

Dollar gains put on hold, sterling looks to BoE for cues

The dollar faces another test on Friday with the release of non-farm payrolls data, which will help confirm whether the world's largest economy has shrugged off a dip in growth toward the end of last year."The dollar's recovery was triggered by a rebound in yields and an increase in inflation expectations," said Junichi Ishikawa, senior foreign exchange strategist at IG Securities."This is supporting the dollar, which now has more room to rise against the euro, because the euro zone looks like it is lagging behind U.S. economic growth."Against the euro, the dollar stood at $1.2035, close to a nine-week high.The pound bought $1.3643, stabilising after a 0.2% decline in the previous session. Sterling traded at 88.19 pence per euro EURGBP=D3 , near the strongest since May last year.The dollar was quoted at 105.04 yen, near its highest since mid-November.Data due on Friday is forecast to show the U.S. economy added 50,000 jobs in January, which would be a mild recovery from shedding 140,000 jobs in the previous month as a spike in coronavirus infections curbed economic activity.Since the start of the year expectations for big fiscal stimulus under Biden's Democratic government have supported sentiment. The pace of vaccinations in the United