* Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
By Saikat Chatterjee
LONDON, July 12 (Reuters) - The dollar edged lower for a
third consecutive day on Friday as stronger-than-expected U.S.
inflation data failed to shake convictions that the Federal
Reserve will start cutting interest rates at a policy meeting
later this month.
Against a basket of other currencies .DXY , the dollar fell
0.1% to 96.94 and was on track for its biggest weekly drop in
three weeks.
The core U.S. consumer price index, excluding food and
energy, rose 0.3% in June, the largest increase since January
2018, data on Thursday showed. The reading pushed U.S. Treasury yields higher, but money
markets still indicated one rate cut at the end of July and a
cumulative 64 basis points in cuts by the end of 2019.
"Cutting interest rates when inflation data is weakening
makes sense, but signaling a dovish stance when inflation is
rising is a bit weird and suggests there are political pressures
weighing on the Fed," said Ulrich Leuchtmann, the head of
currency research at Commerzbank.
The dollar's weakness revived carry trades, where hedge
funds borrow in low-yielding currencies such as the Swiss franc
and the euro to purchase higher-yielding ones such as the
Australian dollar or the kiwi dollar.
On Friday, the Australian dollar/Swiss franc AUDCHF= cross
was up a quarter of a percent. The Kiwi dollar gained 0.3% to
$0.6665.
The euro EUR=EBS got a boost from a selloff in the German
bond market, rising 0.1% to $1.1270. Comments by Chicago Fed President Charles Evans scheduled
later on Friday and New York Fed President John Williams on
Monday will provide a chance to gauge how dovish the central
bank is, said Masafumi Yamamoto, chief forex strategist at
Mizuho Securities.
"If these Fed officials are not as dovish as Powell, and if
the New York Fed's manufacturing survey on Monday proves
stronger than forecast, they could show that the dollar
weakening in response to Powell's congressional testimony was
overdone."
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US real interest rates and DXY https://tmsnrt.rs/32niorZ
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