FOREX-Dollar climbs past four-month high as risk appetite wanes

* Dollar index climbs past four-month high * U.S. Treasury yields inch as high 1.64% after weak auction * Graphic: World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E (New throughout, updates prices, market activity and comments) By Jessica DiNapoli and Elizabeth Howcroft New York, March 25 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar climbed against a basket of major currencies again on Thursday, leaping over a four-moth high, as investors' pared their appetite for risk. The dollar index rose about .28% to 92.85 in afternoon trading. The greenback for the year is now up more than 3%. Yields on Treasuries climbed to their highest in the session after weak demand for the second month in a row at an auction on seven-year notes. The session high yield was 1.642%. On Thursday afternoon they yielded 1.630%. The rise again in the dollar indicated investors were shrugging off positive data showing fewer-than-expected Americans filed new claims for unemployment benefits last week, and commentary from U.S. President Joe Biden that the economy is gaining steam. "The dollar has been grinding higher over the last few days," said Mazen Issa, senior currency analyst at TD Securities. "The bias here is that the dollar ... remains elevated." U.S. stocks, rose late in the day on Thursday in a session marked by choppy trading. Concerns about extended lockdowns in Europe also weighed on markets. Leaders in Europe met to discuss how to ramp up supplies of COVID-19 vaccines after a slow start to inoculations. The euro was down 0.41% against the dollar, at $1.1767 , with analysts forecasting it could embrace the $1.16 range, as Europe's economic recovery lags. The dollar was up .39% against the yen at 109.1500. The Australian and New Zealand dollars, which dropped in the previous two sessions, edged down slightly against the U.S. dollar. Bitcoin was roughly flat, down 1.43% at $52,360.51 . The cryptocurrency briefly topped $57,000 after Tesla Inc boss Elon Musk said on Wednesday customers can now buy the company's electric cars with the digital token. Currency bid prices at 4:00PM (2000 GMT) Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid Previous Change Session Dollar index 92.8500 92.5970 +0.28% 3.188% +92.9170 +92.5120 Euro/Dollar $1.1767 $1.1815 -0.41% -3.70% +$1.1828 +$1.1762 Dollar/Yen 109.1100 108.6800 +0.39% +5.63% +109.2300 +108.7500 Euro/Yen 128.39 128.42 -0.02% +1.16% +128.9400 +128.4100 Dollar/Swiss 0.9397 0.9358 +0.42% +6.22% +0.9399 +0.9351 Sterling/Dollar $1.3735 $1.3680 +0.42% +0.55% +$1.3745 +$1.3671 Dollar/Canadian 1.2617 1.2582 +0.29% -0.91% +1.2629 +1.2547 Aussie/Dollar $0.7579 $0.7581 -0.01% -1.46% +$0.7614 +$0.7564 Euro/Swiss 1.1056 1.1052 +0.04% +2.29% +1.1074 +1.1043 Euro/Sterling 0.8564 0.8629 -0.75% -4.17% +0.8641 +0.8566 NZ $0.6952 $0.6961 -0.06% -3.13% +$0.6986 +$0.6944 Dollar/Dollar Dollar/Norway 8.6390 8.5685 +1.08% +0.86% +8.6665 +8.5900 Euro/Norway 10.1678 10.1608 +0.07% -2.86% +10.2154 +10.1360 Dollar/Sweden 8.6478 8.6046 +0.02% +5.51% +8.6749 +8.5985 Euro/Sweden 10.1755 10.1733 +0.02% +0.98% +10.2143 +10.1652 (Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft Editing by Jane Merriman, Paul Simao and David Gregorio)