The dollar jumped against the yen, euro and other regional currencies Monday in Asian trading as expectations dwindled for a revaluation of the Chinese currency, a move that would boost the value of Asian currencies. The U.S. dollar was trading at 107.64 yen midafternoon in Tokyo, up 0.73 yen from late Friday in Tokyo and above the 107.37 yen it bought in New York later that day. The euro fell to US$1.2596 from US$1.2673 late Friday but rose to 135.62 yen from 135.46 yen. "The dollar's bias seems quite strong partly because we're seeing a cooling down of speculation" that China will soon shift to a more flexible currency regime, said Tetsu Aikawa, vice president of foreign exchange trade at UFJ Bank in Tokyo. "Some players seem to be building fresh long-dollar positions." China has been under growing pressure from the U.S. to free up the yuan, which is effectively pegged to the dollar. Speculation has been rife that Beijing might loosen its peg soon and allow the yuan to rise. A rise in the yuan is expected to make exports from Japan more competitive relative to Chinese goods and is believed to also have the effect of pulling up the yen. Some positive data about the U.S. economy also have helped the dollar. Last week, the dollar rallied on a series of positive reports about the U.S. economy, easing concerns about a slowdown in the world's largest economy. The U.S. currency hit a new high for the year against the euro on Friday as traders bid up the dollar after the U.S. Commerce Department said American business inventories rose 0.4 percent in March as total sales accelerated sharply after a lull in February. But some market players aren't too optimistic about the dollar. "It's true we saw some dollar-supportive economic data out in the U.S. last week," said Akifumi Uchida, senior foreign exchange trader at Sumitomo Trust & Banking. "But why would I buy dollars when U.S. stocks aren't performing so well and long-term interest rates there are on the decline?"