FOREX-U.S. dollar rises on weaker euro, Swiss franc and yen

* * Graphic: World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E By David Henry and Ritvik Carvalho NEW YORK/LONDON, Feb 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar bounced to a 2-week high on Monday on weakness in the euro, Swiss franc and Japanese yen amid views that the U.S. has an advantage in growing its economy and vaccinating its population against COVID-19. The dollar index was up 0.21% to 90.815 at mid-morning in New York, while the euro was off 0.36% to $1.209. Against the Swiss franc the dollar was up 0.45%. The euro weakened after Germany reported that retail sales plunged by an unexpected 9.6% in December after tighter lockdowns last year to curb the spread of COVID-19 choked consumer spending in Europe's largest economy. The dollar may be more resilient in the near-term because "both growth and vaccination favour the U.S," said Kamal Sharma, director of G10 FX strategy at BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research. U.S.-based strategists at Wells Fargo Securities wrote, "We think USD strength still has room to run." That's especially true against more volatile securities, they added. The Australian and New Zealand dollars gave up early gains and were down 0.1% and 0.11%, respectively, against the greenback. The U.S. dollar also gained 0.3% against the Norwegian crown to 8.5815 crowns per dollar. Jens Naervig Pedersen, chief analyst for FX and rates strategy at Danske Bank, noted the Norway central bank's Friday announcement of a surprisingly large increase in the daily pace of its fiscal Norwegian crown buying from 800 million crowns in January to 1,700 million in February. ======================================================== Currency bid prices at 10:17AM (1517 GMT) Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid Previous Change Session Dollar index 90.8150 90.6280 +0.21% +0.00% +90.9240 +90.5010 Euro/Dollar $1.2094 $1.2139 -0.36% -1.01% +$1.2145 +$1.2069 Dollar/Yen 104.9150 104.7250 +0.24% +1.64% +104.9850 +104.6550 Euro/Yen 126.90 127.07 -0.13% -0.02% +127.1200 +126.6700 Dollar/Swiss 0.8948 0.8909 +0.45% +1.15% +0.8965 +0.8908 Sterling/Dollar $1.3681 $1.3693 -0.07% +0.15% +$1.3757 +$1.3668 Dollar/Canadian 1.2805 1.2775 +0.27% +0.60% +1.2819 +1.2763 Aussie/Dollar $0.7627 $0.7642 -0.18% -0.84% +$0.7662 +$0.7606 Euro/Swiss 1.0820 1.0808 +0.11% +0.12% +1.0827 +1.0803 Euro/Sterling 0.8838 0.8852 -0.16% -1.11% +0.8856 +0.8805 NZ $0.7175 $0.7184 -0.11% -0.07% +$0.7202 +$0.7151 Dollar/Dollar Dollar/Norway 8.5815 8.5650 +0.30% +0.05% +8.6195 +8.5590 Euro/Norway 10.3806 10.4099 -0.28% -0.83% +10.4330 +10.3682 Dollar/Sweden 8.4146 8.3589 +0.29% +2.66% +8.4266 +8.3263 Euro/Sweden 10.1752 10.1455 +0.29% +0.99% +10.1885 +10.1360 (Reporting by David Henry and Ritvik Carvalho; Editing by Bernadette Baum)