The dollar rose to a one-year high against a basket of currencies on Thursday, gaining for a third straight session, as investors further boosted long-term bets on the currency following bullish comments this week on the U.S. economy by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. The greenback also climbed to a one-year peak against the yuan, as trade worries and reports Beijing would boost liquidity in the financial system pressured the Chinese currency. The People's Bank of China is channeling credit to small and medium-sized firms as the country looks set to loosen monetary conditions to lessen the impact of a U.S.-China trade war. Easier monetary policy tends to weaken a currency. In late morning trading, the dollar index, a gauge of its value against a basket of six major currencies, was up 0.37 percent to 95.432, after touching a one-year high at 95.652. The dollar was up as lower-than-expected jobless claims bolstered rate hike expectations after two days of upbeat comments on the U.S. economy by the Federal Reserve's chairman. On Tuesday and Wednesday, Powell said in congressional testimony he believed the United States was on course for years more of steady growth, and he carefully played down the risks to the U.S. economy of an escalating trade conflict. The widening interest rate gap between the United States and other major markets has lifted the dollar and prompted analysts to expect further strengthening. "If you look at the U.S., we're just outpacing everyone in terms of rate hikes," said Minh Trang, senior FX trader, Silicon Valley Bank in Santa Clara, California. "That's going to help the dollar long term, and it has helped the dollar in the short term as well, obviously." The dollar gained against the euro, with the single currency sinking 0.3 percent to $1.1600. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar rose 0.1 percent to 112.94 yen. YUAN WEAKNESS The Chinese yuan fell 0.8 percent to 6.798 yuan per dollar in offshore trading. China's Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday it would have to take further measures to compensate for losses caused by U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum U.S. President Donald Trump's top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, said on Wednesday he believed Chinese President Xi Jinping has blocked progress on a trade deal. China called Kudlow's assertions "shocking" and "bogus" on Thursday. So far this year, the yuan has weakened roughly 4.4 percent versus the U.S. dollar. ======================================================== Currency bid prices at 11:15AM (1515 GMT) Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid Previous Change Session Euro/Dollar EUR= $1.1608 $1.1638 -0.26% -3.23% +1.1657 +1.1575 Dollar/Yen JPY= 112.9100 112.8300 +0.07% +0.21% +113.1600 +112.6600 Euro/Yen EURJPY= 131.08 131.32 -0.18% -3.03% +131.4200 +130.9200 Dollar/Swiss CHF= 1.0014 0.9987 +0.27% +2.78% +1.0043 +0.9982 Sterling/Dollar GBP= 1.2994 1.3068 -0.57% -3.83% +1.3083 +1.2959 Dollar/Canadian CAD= 1.3254 1.3169 +0.65% +5.38% +1.3271 +1.3160 Australian/Doll AUD= 0.7335 0.7397 -0.84% -5.97% +0.7441 +0.7324 ar Euro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.1625 1.1625 +0.00% -0.55% +1.1640 +1.1614 Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.8931 0.8903 +0.31% +0.54% +0.8942 +0.8902 NZ NZD= 0.6722 0.6792 -1.03% -5.14% +0.6805 +0.6717 Dollar/Dollar Dollar/Norway NOK= 8.2459 8.1688 +0.94% +0.47% +8.2743 +8.1629 Euro/Norway EURNOK= 9.5738 9.5075 +0.70% -2.79% +9.5892 +9.5073 Dollar/Sweden SEK= 8.9316 8.8648 +0.51% +8.90% +8.9549 +8.8513 Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 10.3710 10.3180 +0.51% +5.41% +10.3811 +10.3138 (Reporting by James Thorne; Additional reporting by Tom Finn in London; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)