The US consumer price index rose by 0.1% in January 2014, as expected. So did core CPI. The number of jobless claims dropped to 336K, within expectations as well. US CPI was expected to rise 0.1% in January after 0.3% in December. Core CPI was also expected to rise at 0.1% after the same rise in beforehand. Year over year, both indicators stand at 1.6%, exactly as expected. Jobless claims were predicted to slide from 339K to 335K.
EUR/USD trading at around 1.37, partially recovering from weak figures. GBP/USD traded higher at 1.5570. USD/JPY was just above 102. The euro is marginally higher after the release. Update: it didn’t go too far.
Update: Philly Fed Index goes negative – USD follows
Lower inflation could make Janet Yellen and her colleagues at the Federal Reserve rethink the QE tapering scheme.
After a streak of disappointing US figures, this “as expected” bulk of figures is certainly a breather for the dollar. While it doesn’t push the greenback higher, the numbers allow for traders to digest the FOMC meeting minutes once again and see that the Fed is on track.
More: FOMC Minutes sees economy on track, reflects new hawkish composition – USD marginally stronger