Dollar sags after benign US inflation data; kiwi skids on rate cut
Updates prices as of 0315 GMT
By Kevin Buckland
TOKYO, Aug 14 (Reuters) -The dollar remained on the back foot on Wednesday after tumbling versus major peers overnight as a benign reading for U.S. producer prices reinforced bets on Federal Reserve interest rate cuts this year.
New Zealand's dollar dropped sharply from a four-week high after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand reduced the key cash rate and flagged more cuts to come, surprising some market participants.
The yen strengthened against the dollar, buoyed by lower U.S. bond yields, with crucial U.S. consumer price index figures looming later on Wednesday.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's decision to not run for reelection in his party's leadership race next month had little effect on markets, analysts said.
Meanwhile,risk-sensitive currencies like sterling and the Australian dollar remainedfirm after the unexpected softening in U.S. inflation buoyed equities. The Aussie briefly reacheda more than three-week peak, while sterling traded near a more than two-week high following its best one-day performance against the dollar since late April.
The dollar index =USD - which measures the currency against six major rivals, including sterling, the euro and the yen - was steady at 102.61 as of 0315 GMT, after slumping 0.49% overnight.
Traders were already certain that the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) would lower rates at its September meeting before the producer price data, but ramped up bets for a super-sized 50 basis point cut to 53.5% from 50% a day earlier, according to CME's FedWatch Tool.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia analysts expect the dollar to be in a holding pattern before the release of U.S. CPI data, but then see risks tilted toward further weakness.
"We expect the market to double down on large interest rate cuts by the FOMC this year if the core CPI increases by 0.1%/mpnthor less, (whereas) we expect the market to largely play down the core CPI if it increases by 0.2%/monthor 0.3%/month," Carol Kong, a currency strategist at CBA, wrote in a client note.
KIWI DROPS AFTER RATE CUT
The kiwi NZD=D3 fell as much as 1.08% after the RBNZ cut the cash rate by a quarter point, when only about half of economists and a little more than two-thirds of traders had bet on such a move. That reversed earlier gains that took it to the highest since July 18 at $0.6084. It was last trading 1.02% weaker at $0.6015.
It was the central bank's first easing since early 2020, and came a year earlier than its own projections.
"The RBNZ has completed a 180-degree dovish backflip, cutting interest rates to bring much-needed relief for households and businesses just three months after it raised the possibility of additional rate hikes," said Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG.
The Aussie AUD=D3 edged down 0.23% to $0.66185 in sympathy with the kiwi, afterearlier rising to $0.66395 for the first time since July 23.
Sterling GBP=D3 was steady at $1.2862 following a 0.76% rally on Tuesday when it got an additional boost from data showing a surprise drop in the UK's jobless rate.
The euro EUR=EBS was flat at $1.0991 after rising to $1.099975 on Tuesday for the first time since Aug. 5.
The dollar dropped 0.31% to 146.40 yen JPY=EBS, with U.S. 10-year Treasury yields US10YT=RR edging down to 3.85% in Asian hours, after declining 5.5 basis points overnight.
In Japan, Kishida announced he would step down in September, ending a three-year term marred by political scandals and paving the way for a new premier to helm Japan's ongoing economic recovery.
"Probably the impact on the economy and financial markets should be relatively limited because Mr. Kishida’s policies, if I try to characterize them, are really wide ranging and not focused on specific themes," said Masayuki Kichikawa, chief macro strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management.
"The big question would be who would be next. That will be more important."
World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
Reporting by Kevin Buckland; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Kim Coghill
Gerelateerde activa
Laatste nieuws
Disclaimer: De entiteiten van de XM Group bieden diensten en toegang tot ons online handelsplatform op basis van uitsluitend-uitvoering, waardoor een persoon de beschikbare content op of via de website kan bekijken en/of gebruiken, zonder dat dit is bedoeld voor wijziging of uitbreiding. Dergelijk(e) toegang en gebruik vallen onder: (i) de algemene voorwaarden; (ii) risicowaarschuwingen; en de (iii) volledige disclaimer. Dergelijke content wordt daarom alleen aangeboden als algemene informatie. Wees u er daarnaast vooral van bewust dat de inhoud op ons online handelsplatform geen verzoek of aanbieding omvat om transacties op de financiële markten uit te voeren. Het beleggen op welke financiële markt dan ook vormt een aanzienlijk risico voor uw vermogen.
Alle materialen die op ons online handelsplatform worden gepubliceerd zijn bedoeld voor educatieve/informatieve doeleinden en omvatten geen – en moeten niet worden beschouwd als het bevatten van – financieel, vermogensbelastings- of handelsadvies en aanbevelingen, of een overzicht van onze handelsprijzen, of een aanbod of aanvraag van een transactie in financiële instrumenten of ongevraagde financiële promoties voor u.
Alle content van derden, alsmede content die is voorbereid door XM, zoals opinies, nieuws, onderzoeken, analyses, prijzen en andere informatie of koppelingen naar externe websites op deze website worden aangeboden op een 'zoals-ze-zijn'-basis, als algemene marktcommentaren, en vormen geen beleggingsadvies. Voor zover dat content wordt beschouwd als beleggingsonderzoek, moet u zich ervan bewust zijn en accepteren dat de content niet bedoeld was en niet is voorbereid in overeenstemming met de wettelijke vereisten die zijn opgesteld om de onafhankelijkheid van beleggingsonderzoek te bevorderen en als zodanig onder de geldende wetgeving en richtlijnen moet worden beschouwd als marketingcommunicatie. Zorg ervoor dat u onze Mededeling over niet-onafhankelijk beleggingsonderzoek en risicowaarschuwing in verband met de voorgaande informatie doorneemt en begrijpt; die kunt u hier lezen.
