Dollar higher

SINGAPORE: The dollar traded near a two-week high against a basket of major currencies on Monday, bolstered by rising U.S. bond yields, while easing concerns over global political risks weighed on the safe haven yen.

The dollar´s index against a basket of six major peers edged up 0.1 percent to 90.401, staying within sight of a two-week high of 90.477 set on Friday.

Rising U.S. bond yields helped underpin the greenback, with the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield touching a peak of 2.979 percent in Asian trade, the highest since January 2014.Concerns that recent rises in global oil prices could add to inflationary pressures, as well as increases in U.S. debt issuance, are likely contributing to the rise in Treasury yields, said Teppei Ino, a Singapore-based analyst for MUFG Bank.

"So this rise in yields is probably not something that should be welcomed," Ino said. "The market reaction for now is for the dollar to strengthen, but at the same time the dollar index hasn´t risen above its recent trading ranges," Ino added. The dollar index has traded in a range of about 88.25 to 91.00 since around the middle of January. The rise in U.S. bond yields pressured emerging Asian currencies, with the Indonesian rupiah hitting a two-year low of 13,895 per dollar.