The dollar held steady in Asian trade on Monday, underpinned by expectations the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates before other central banks. The greenback was at 119.51 yen in Tokyo, up from 119.43 yen in New York on Friday. The euro bought $1.2240 and 146.30 yen, against $1.2227 and 146.06 yen in US trade. "US dollar strength remains a key theme, with broad gains against most currencies," National Australia Bank said in a note. Wrapping up a policy meeting last week, the US Federal Reserve kept interest rates low and said it would be "patient in beginning to normalise the stance of monetary policy". While the Fed did not accelerate its timeline for raising interest rates, currency traders are betting the US will increase borrowing costs more quickly than other major central banks, which would tend to boost demand for the dollar. Tokyo markets will be closed Tuesday for a national holiday. The Russian ruble, which dived to unprecedented levels of 80 to the dollar and 100 to the euro briefly last week, appeared to have stabilised. The dollar bought 58.50 rubles, while the euro fetched 72.21 rubles on Monday. The dollar was mixed against other Asia-Pacific currencies. The greenback weakened to 12,452.50 Indonesian rupiah from 12,547.00 rupiah on Friday, to 1,096.46 South Korean won from 1,101.83 won, and to 44.60 Philippine pesos from 44.75 pesos. It firmed to 63.19 Indian rupees from 63.08 rupees, to Sg$1.3181 from Sg$1.3143, to Tw$31.54 from Tw$31.47, and to 32.86 Thai baht against 32.85 baht. The Australian dollar slipped to 81.57 US cents from 81.89 cents, while the Chinese yuan bought 19.20 Japanese yen against 19.16 yen.

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