The Currency analytics
By James Thorp
The greenback took a hit Monday. Fresh inflation numbers came in cooler than Wall Street expected, and now the dollar's staring down its third weekly loss in four tries.
Labor Department data shows January's Consumer Price Index crawled up just 0.2%. Economists had penciled in something higher.
Currency desks started buzzing about what this means for Fed policy. If inflation's really cooling off, Jerome Powell and his crew might pump the brakes on rate hikes.
The euro jumped 0.4% against the dollar while the yen climbed 0.5%. Traders are betting lower U.S.
The British pound basically went nowhere as traders wait for the Bank of England's next move. Australia's dollar held steady too, getting some help from rising commodity prices.
Emerging markets saw mixed action. Brazil's real gained some ground, but South Africa's rand got hammered by domestic political drama that's been brewing for weeks.
Everyone's waiting for Powell's speech Wednesday. The Fed chief's expected to give markets some clarity on where interest rates are headed and how worried the central bank really…
Some analysts aren't buying the dollar weakness story just yet. "Economic data could swing unexpectedly," warns one currency strategist who covers major banks' trading desks.
Oil markets added another wrinkle. Brent crude fell 1%, which hurt petro-currencies like the Canadian dollar.
China's yuan found some stability after weeks of wild swings. The People's Bank of China seems focused on domestic growth rather than currency games right now.
U.S. retail sales numbers hit later this week. Analysts expect modest growth, which could tell us whether consumers are still spending despite higher borrowing costs.
The Treasury releases monthly budget figures February 15th. Government spending and tax collection numbers don't usually move currencies much, but fiscal policy's been a hot…
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda keeps pushing ultra-loose monetary policy while the Fed tightens.
European Central Bank meeting minutes drop Thursday. Traders want to know how worried ECB officials are about inflation and whether they're thinking about policy changes.
Australia publishes employment data February 16th. The Aussie dollar's been surprisingly resilient, partly because the job market's stayed strong.