TOKYO, Nov 29 Reuters The yen jumped as much as 1.2 against the U.S. dollar to a sixweek high on Friday, after fasterthanexpected inflation in Tokyo supported bets for a Bank of Japan interest rate hike next month.

The dollar sagged against most major peers in trading thinned by the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, with sterling, New Zealand39;s kiwi and the Chinese yuan all rising to the strongest levels in more than a week.

The yen is turning into the latest momentum trade … with little friction to prevent it rising in thin holiday trade, said Matt Simpson, senior market analyst at City Index.

However, for the current session, unless we find an actual catalyst then we may be nearing the day39;s low for USDJPY, he said.

The dollar drooped 1 to 150.01 yen as of 0506 GMT, and earlier reached 149.77 yen for the first time since Oct. 21.

The dollar index , which measures the greenback versus the yen, sterling, euro, and three other rivals, was 0.2 weaker at 105.86, and touched 105.79 for the first time since Nov. 13.

The dollar has been in the doldrums since its surge to a twoyear high against a basket of key rivals a week ago, but remains on track for a more than 2 gain in November, following its more than 3 leap last month.

A lot of that strength has been fuelled by Donald Trump39;s resounding election victory on Nov. 5, pumping up expectations of big fiscal spending, higher tariffs and tighter borders, all seen by economists as inflationary.

This week, the dollar…