May 19, 2015: NZD is the strongest. EUR is the weakest.
As North American traders enter for the trading day, the New Zealand dollar is the strongest currency, while the EUR is a weakest.
The NZD moved higher after the 2Q inflation expectations rose to 1.85% from 1.8%. The EUR was hurt by ECB Coeure's comments that the ECB is increasing QE purchases ahead of the summer. CPI inflation in the euro zone came in as expected 0.2%. The trade surplus came in at 19.7 billion which was lower than the 21.0 B estimate but both imports and exports were up on a YoY basis (see post here). German ZEW was weaker than expectations. Traders are also faced with a weaker GBP as the NY day begins. CPI MoM rose by 0.2% vs 0.4% estimate. The YoY is at -0.1% instead of 0.0% estimate.
The dollar has benefited the most against the EUR and the GBP. The commodity currencies are showing mixed results with the greenback higher vs the CAD and AUD but down vs the NZD.
On the schedule today will be US housing starts and building permits for April (to be released at 8:30 AM ET).. Housing starts are expected to rebound to 1015K vs. 926K. Building permits are also expected to rise to 1064K from a revised 1042K.