Financial markets are closed in Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Britain, Europe and the United States in observance of the Good Friday holiday. Friday’s data showed U.S. nonfarm payrolls surged 916,000 jobs last month, the largest gain since last August. Data for February was revised higher to show 468,000 jobs created instead of the previously reported 379,000. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls increasing by 647,000 jobs in March. “The important thing is that the employment trend is pointing in the right direction,” said JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade in Chicago. “We’re not where we were pre-March last year. We’re still down 5.5% from our peak, but we continue to make great progress,” he added. Sentiment for the dollar has improved in recent weeks, while Treasury yields have spiked, as the Biden administration’s planned stimulus of over $2 trillion and a rapid COVID-19 vaccine roll out spurred economic optimism as well as inflation fears. U.S. benchmark 10-year Treasury yields were last at 1.705%, up nearly 3 basis points from the previous session. [US/] In mid-morning trading, the dollar index was up 0.1% at 92.959, posting gains in five of the last six weeks. It is headed for its third straight weekly rise. The dollar’s ascent to multi-month highs is likely to continue as more investors bet on economic recovery. The dollar was up slightly versus the yen at 110.68 yen JPY=EBS, not far from its strongest level in a year at just under 111 yen. ADVERTISEMENT Against the euro, the dollar was quoted at $1.1777, near a five-month high. The greenback was little changed against the Swiss currency at US$0.94170 Swiss franc CHF=EBS, after losing 0.2% on Thursday. Elsewhere, the Australian dollar slipped 0.2% to US$0.7612. Across the Tasman Sea, the New Zealand dollar was flat at US$0.7025. In the cryptocurrency market, bitcoin briefly rose above $60,000 for the first time in two weeks but then pared gains to trade up 0.7% at $59,130. ======================================================== Currency bid prices at 9:57AM (1357 GMT) Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid Previous Change ADVERTISEMENT Session Dollar index 92.9440 92.8980 +0.07% 3.293% +93.0750 +92.8300 Euro/Dollar $1.1768 $1.1778 -0.10% -3.70% +$1.1787 +$1.1749 Dollar/Yen 110.6850 110.6050 +0.09% +7.15% +110.7450 +110.3700 Euro/Yen 130.26 130.23 +0.02% +2.63% +130.3100 +130.0400 Dollar/Swiss 0.9414 0.9416 +0.01% +6.44% +0.9434 +0.9407 Sterling/Dollar $1.3827 $1.3834 -0.04% +1.22% +$1.3852 +$1.3815 Dollar/Canadian 1.2557 1.2553 +0.05% -1.37% +1.2573 +1.2530 Aussie/Dollar $0.7610 $0.7617 -0.07% -1.05% +$0.7637 +$0.7600 ADVERTISEMENT Euro/Swiss 1.1080 1.1090 -0.09% +2.53% +1.1097 +1.1074 Euro/Sterling 0.8510 0.8511 -0.01% -4.78% +0.8520 +0.8504 NZ $0.7023 $0.7025 +0.03% -2.14% +$0.7047 +$0.7017 Dollar/Dollar Dollar/Norway 8.5305 8.5265 -0.04% -0.74% +8.5415 +8.5235 Euro/Norway 10.0398 10.0360 +0.04% -4.08% +10.0530 +10.0296 Dollar/Sweden 8.7219 8.7115 +0.04% +6.41% +8.7375 +8.7048 Euro/Sweden 10.2640 10.2598 +0.04% +1.86% +10.2685 +10.2572 Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Additional reporting by Stanley White in Tokyo