The US Dollar was broadly lower during Friday trade after disappointing US producer price inflation data. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Thursday that the Producer Price Index fell to 2.6% in December, down from November’s 3.1% and well below the 3.0% forecasted by analysts and economists. Core producer prices, which strips out volatile components, also unexpectedly declined on a month-by-month and year-by-year basis, hitting -0.1% and 2.3%, respectively. The US Dollar Index, a measure of the relative strength of the greenback, fell to a low of 91.697 .DXY, a fresh 4-month low.
As reported at 10:21 am (JST) in Tokyo, the EUR/USD was trading at $1.21, up 0.08%, while the GBP/USD was at $1.3549, a gain of 0.08%. The Dollar is doing better against Asian currencies with the USD/JPY at 111.248 Yen, up 0.03% and the AUD/USD was trading at $0.7893, down 0.047%.
Euro Lifted on Tightening Expectations
In the Eurozone, the Euro found some solid support on expectations that the European Central Bank is getting ready to begin reining in its current ultra-loose monetary policy. The latest minutes from December’s policy meeting indicated that the ECB’s Governing Council plan to revisit the current stance soon. That hawkish rhetoric was seen as an indicator that the ECB will curtail bond purchases provided the Eurozone economy continues to strengthen.