Stock Market

Story: Dollar Slides After Inflation Data

By James Thorp

1 / 15

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.

2 / 15

Labor Department data shows January's Consumer Price Index crawled up just 0.2%. Economists had penciled in something higher.

3 / 15

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.

4 / 15

The euro jumped 0.4% against the dollar while the yen climbed 0.5%. Traders are betting lower U.S.

5 / 15

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.

6 / 15

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.

7 / 15

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…

8 / 15

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.

9 / 15

Oil markets added another wrinkle. Brent crude fell 1%, which hurt petro-currencies like the Canadian dollar.

10 / 15

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.

11 / 15

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.

12 / 15

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…

13 / 15

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda keeps pushing ultra-loose monetary policy while the Fed tightens.

14 / 15

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.

15 / 15

Australia publishes employment data February 16th. The Aussie dollar's been surprisingly resilient, partly because the job market's stayed strong.

The Currency Analytics

Want the full story?