Headlines:
- Sterling climbs on slightly stronger UK inflation data
- US futures pare losses as risk mood holds up for now
- Japan chief Cabinet secretary says closely watching FX moves, prepared for full measures
- UK March CPI +3.2% vs +3.1% y/y expected
- Eurozone March final CPI +2.4% vs +2.4% y/y prelim
- US MBA mortgage applications w.e. 12 April +3.3% vs +0.1% prior
- NZ statistics office owns up to inflation data release error
- Japan monthly visitors hit a record high in March, crosses 3 million for first time ever
Markets:
- NZD leads, USD lags on the day
- European equities higher; S&P 500 futures up 0.3%
- US 10-year yields flat at 4.655%
- Gold up 0.3% to $2,388.80
- WTI crude down 0.7% to $84.77
- Bitcoin flat at $63,053
The dollar is taking a bit of a breather today as it slacks against the rest of the major currencies bloc. That said, it is still in a solid position as traders are still digesting the events so far in April.
The pound was a decent mover, helped by a slightly stronger UK inflation report. GBP/USD nudged up from 1.2420 to 1.2480 but failed to clear the 100-hour moving average. The key technical hurdle is where sellers are holding, with price now back down slightly to 1.2455 on the day.
Besides that, EUR/USD is up 0.2% to 1.0640 with USD/CHF down 0.2% to 0.9107 currently. The moves are relatively light, not really suggesting much of a turnaround in the recent dollar momentum.
AUD/USD is seen up 0.4% to 0.6425 with NZD/USD up 0.5% to 0.5908 after the NZ inflation data earlier in the day. A better risk mood is also helping as US futures pared early losses to sit a little higher now. European indices are also looking to bounce back from yesterday's fall, with French stocks leading the way. The CAC 40 is up a little over 1% with the DAX up 0.5%.
Other than that, there's not much else to really scrutinise in markets so far today. It's a pause in the dollar momentum and that's the main takeaway.
