The US Dollar Index remained close to a 2-week peak, lifted by the latest data on the US economy coupled with a bounce in US Treasury instrument yields. The US Census Bureau reported that April's housing starts hit $1.235M (on a month-over-month basis), well above the $1.205M that had been predicted by analysts. Building permits for the month also saw an improvement overall, with a rise to $1.296M against a forecast of $1.290M. On the labor front, the US Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims through the week ended May 10th fell to 212K, down from 228K the previous week and below analysts' forecast of 220K. Capping off the data run, the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Report came out with a reading of 16.6, nearly double the previous reading of 8.5 and besting analysts' forecasts of a rise to 9.0.
As reported at 10:02 am (JST) in Tokyo, the US Dollar Index was trading higher at 97.8640 .DXY, a gain of 0.01%. The USD/JPY was trading at 109.9970 Yen, up 0.1192% and off the session peak of 110.034 Yen. The GBP/USD was trading lower at $1.2786, down 0.0686%, with the session low at $1.2783. The EUR/USD, meanwhile, was higher at $1.1176, up 0.017%, off the session peak of $1.11773.
Eurozone CPI in Focus
Ahead later today, Eurostat will be releasing information on consumer inflation as well as construction output for the month of April. Analysts have predicted that CPI will likely fall to 0.7% (month-over-month) from 1.0%, and Core CPI, which eliminates volatile components, will drop to 0.9% from a revised 1.0%. Construction output is expected to show a significant decline. The Eurozone economy continues to struggle for traction, despite the efforts of the European Central Bank. Analysts say that the concerns over global growth, as well as the political instability in Italy are weighing on the common currency.