TOKYO, June 6 Reuters The Australian dollar jumped to its highest since midMay on Tuesday after the Reserve Bank of Australia raised interest rates, in a decision that many analysts had said would be a close call between a hike and a pause.

The U.S. dollar retreated further from last week39;s 212month highs versus major peers after unexpectedly soft U.S. services data overnight firmed up expectations for a pause at the Federal Reserve39;s meeting next week, but clouded the policy outlook for the months ahead.

Leading cryptocurrency bitcoin languished below 26,000 after U.S. regulators sued Binance, the world39;s biggest cryptocurrency exchange.

The RBA raised the cash rate to an 11year high of 4.1, saying the hike would provide greater confidence that inflation would return to target within a reasonable timeframe, but adding that some further tightening may be required.

The Aussie was last up 0.73 at 0.6665, after leaping as high as 0.6677, a level last seen on May 16.

The RBA39;s second consecutive hawkish surprise should fuel an extension of the recent rally, taking it through the 200day moving average at 0.6692 initially, and then on to the 100day moving average at 0.6748, said Sean Callow, a strategist at Westpac.

Meanwhile, U.S. rates have been a central focus for investors globally, with recent data and Fed rhetoric causing some volatility in the U.S. currency.

The dollar index which measures the currency against six major peers slipped 0.11 to 103.89,…