Dollar at 24-year peak to yen after US yields jump

The dollar scaled fresh 24-year heights on the yen on Wednesday, breaching levels that prompted intervention by Japanese officials last month, as traders braced for United States inflation data and its implications for further Federal Reserve rate hikes. Sterling slipped to a new two-week trough after Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey reiterated that the central bank will end its emergency bond-buying program on Friday and told pension fund managers to finish rebalancing their positions within that time frame. However, the pound rebounded slightly after a report in the Financial Times said the BoE has signalled privately to lenders that it's prepared to prolong its bond purchases. The risk-sensitive Australian dollar sank to a 2.5-year low. The dollar strengthened 0.22 per cent to 146.18 yen in Asian trading, after pushing as high as 146.39 for the first time since August 1998. The Japanese currency is particularly sensitive to the gap between US and Japanese long-term bond yields. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield jumped to the cusp of a 14-year high overnight at 4.006pc, while the equivalent Japanese government bond yield is pinned near zero by the Bank of Japan.