(Updates with early U.S. dollar activity, changes dateline, previous LONDON) * Dollar index up for a third straight session * Graphic: World FX rates tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK, Aug 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar touched a its highest level in more than four months against the euro on Tuesday, as investors speculated further over whether recent strong jobs data could be enough to push the Federal Reserve to soon start tapering its bond-buying program. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, was up for a third straight session, at its highest level in about three weeks. In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin was down 2% at $45,352.58, having hit a three-month high of $46,759 overnight. Ether was down 1.29% at $3,126.01. The dollar has risen recently with U.S. bond yields as the prospect of reduced Fed stimulus weakened bond prices. "The dollar is well bid and it"s been well bid since the middle of last week," said Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex in New York. "A combination of hawkish comments from several Federal Reserve officials and the second monthly increase of more than 900,000 jobs has reaffirmed what the market has suspected, and that is for a tapering decision to be made shortly." U.S. job openings hit a record high in June while hiring also increased, the Labor Department said in a monthly survey on Monday. On Friday, the department"s non-farm payrolls report showed jobs increased by 943,000 in July, above the 870,000 forecast by economists in a Reuters poll. Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic said on Monday the U.S. economy is improving faster than expected, with the time when the Fed could start slowing its bond purchases nearing quickly. Investors are looking for signals from the Federal Reserve at the annual Jackson Hole conference of central bankers this month. U.S. consumer price data is due on Wednesday. The dollar index was last up about 0.1% on the day, while the euro was down 0.1% at $1.1720. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar rose 0.2% to 110.505 yen. The dollar was also up 0.2% versus the Swiss franc CHF-EBS, extending recent gains. Investors continue to be worried about growth in China and the fast-spreading Delta variant of the coronavirus. Germany"s ZEW survey found investor sentiment deteriorated for a third month in a row in August, due to fears that rising COVID-19 infections could hold back the recovery in Europe"s largest economy. ======================================================== Currency bid prices at 11:04AM (1504 GMT) Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid Previous Change Session Dollar index 93.0480 92.9790 +0.09% 3.408% +93.1390 +92.9360 Euro/Dollar $1.1720 $1.1736 -0.13% -4.07% +$1.1743 +$1.1710 Dollar/Yen 110.5250 110.3400 +0.17% +6.97% +110.5900 +110.2850 Euro/Yen 129.53 129.48 +0.04% +2.06% +129.6800 +129.4200 Dollar/Swiss 0.9224 0.9207 +0.21% +4.28% +0.9234 +0.9196 Sterling/Dollar $1.3845 $1.3846 +0.00% +1.34% +$1.3872 +$1.3834 Dollar/Canadian 1.2532 1.2579 -0.36% -1.58% +1.2588 +1.2521 Aussie/Dollar $0.7344 $0.7329 +0.18% -4.56% +$0.7356 +$0.7316 Euro/Swiss 1.0809 1.0802 +0.06% +0.02% +1.0818 +1.0795 Euro/Sterling 0.8464 0.8474 -0.12% -5.29% +0.8480 +0.8451 NZ $0.7002 $0.6991 +0.18% -2.48% +$0.7011 +$0.6969 Dollar/Dollar Dollar/Norway 8.9270 8.9390 -0.21% +3.88% +8.9535 +8.9200 Euro/Norway 10.4644 10.5010 -0.35% -0.02% +10.5240 +10.4530 Dollar/Sweden 8.7137 8.7118 -0.06% +6.31% +8.7241 +8.6973 Euro/Sweden 10.2141 10.2205 -0.06% +1.37% +10.2242 +10.2060 (Additional reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft in London; Editing by Ramakrishnan M. and Subhranshu Sahu) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.