By Gina Lee

Investing.com – The dollar was up on Friday morning in Asia, extending a rally against the yen. Investors await the U.S. latest jobs report, which may indicate the likelihood of a U.S. Federal Reserve rate increase in May 2022.

By 11:41 ET, the exchange rate that measures the greenback against other currencies had risen 0.15% (3:41 GMT)

This pair was up 0.84%, to 122.69

Both the pair grew by 0.5% to 0.7484, while they fell by 0.13 to 0.6925.

The pair edged up 0.8% to 6.3517. earlier in the day, showed that for March it was 48.1.

This pair increased by 0.01% to 1.33134.

The greenback’s safe-haven status also gave it a boost, as peace talks between Ukraine and Russia to end the war that was triggered by the Russian invasion on Feb. 24 faded. They will resume talks later today.

The Fed’s next meeting will be held on May 5th to discuss its Monetary Policy. CME Group’s FedWatch (NASDAQ:) tool predicts a 71% chance for a half-point increase in interest rates.

After falling to a low of 97.681 in mid-week, the dollar index rose on Thursday with a 0.50% gain. The dollar index “has been underwhelmed recently, but it showed some backbone overnight. There is still upside potential amid continuing waves of fiercely-hawkish Fedspeak. This aggressive frontloaded profile includes nearly 100 bps hikes at the Fed’s next 2 meetings,” Westpac analysts stated in a note.

According to the note, the index may surpass 100 “in the coming weeks”. From June 14-15, the second Fed meeting will be held.

Investors await today’s U.S. employment report.

As the USD/JPY tracks long-term U.S. Treasury yields, the dollar saw a gain against the yen for the first time in four days. The dollar is not much changed this week following a 6.5% rise over the past three weeks.

RBC Capital Markets analysts stated in a note that the case for USD/JPY moving much higher remains compelling, as Fed rate rises will revolutionize the hedge arithmetic of JPY-based Investors and the sensitivity to hedging cost is increasing.”

The rally in March was driven by foreign investors anticipating JPY selling. If positioning cleans up, we will revert to buying dips in USD/JPY,” the note added.

The euro is now at $1.10690 after a sharp fall from $1.11850 in the previous session, as fears of a Ukrainian war deescalation fade. It is on track for a 0.8% weekly gain. Bitcoin fell by 0.93%, to $45,093.74, a decline of 3.78% over the past week. For the first time since 2022, it crossed the $48,234 threshold on Monday.