Disappointing inflation data from the United States briefly pushed the US Dollar broadly lower but the greenback was able to bounce back. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Thursday that the Consumer Price Index for August (year-over-year) had slipped to 2.7%, below the 2.8% predicted and off the 2.8% reported in the previous period. Core Inflation, which strips out volatile components, also missed the mark at 2.2%, below the 2.4% expected.
As reported at 10:03 am (JST) in Tokyo, the USD/JPY was trading higher at 112.042 Yen, up 0.1152%; the pair ranged from 111.910 Yen to 112.078 Yen. The GBP/USD was trading higher at $1.31, a gain of 0.06%; the GBP/USD pair earlier hit a high of $1.3119.
ECB's Draghi Briefly Surprises
On Thursday, the European Central Bank maintained the status quo as regards its benchmark lending rate and Quantitative Easing schedule. Mario Draghi, the head of the ECB, commented that the Eurozone's low inflation rate was not necessarily a concern for the central bank; those surprising comments provided a lift to the common currency. The Eurozone's CPI is due to be released on Monday, September 17th and analysts are currently forecasting August's CPI to remain at the current 2% level, which is also the ECB's target inflation rate. The EUR/USD was trading at $1.1691, up 0.03%; the pair ranged from $1.16879 to $1.16964.