The US dollar regained the front foot during early Thursday trading, following the trajectory of rising Treasury yields. Also offering support to the greenback were the words of Neel Kashkari, a senior Fed official, who hinted at a 50 basis points rate hike in March. Later today we’ll have the release of eurozone inflation figures, and those are now the main focus for currency traders. Recently released data from France and Spain showed an unexpected acceleration in the rise of consumer prices, which some see as an omen for the wider numbers being released later Thursday. A higher-than-expected inflation figure could strengthen the euro and support the belief that the European Central Bank (ECB) may need to increase interest rates more than initially anticipated.
Ricardo Evangelista – Senior Analyst, ActivTrades