* Graphic: World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
(New throughout)
By Kate Duguid
NEW YORK, May 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar was higher on
Wednesday, though well within recent ranges, after inflation
data showed a surge in consumer prices in April.
The dollar index =USD , which measures the U.S. currency
against a basket of rivals, was last up 0.61% on the day to
90.760. But the move on Wednesday was relatively muted despite
the big jump in April inflation - up 4.2% year over year, the
fastest rise since 2008.
Rising prices typically strengthen the dollar because the
market believes the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates to
quell inflation. But the reaction in the currency market was
fairly contained because Fed Chair Jerome Powell has pledged to
keep rates anchored while also allowing inflation to run higher
for a period.
"It's not a huge move. The dollar has basically been
weakening since May of last year, ever since the pandemic. The
move today only puts us back to where we were a few weeks ago,"
said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives,
Schwab Center for Financial Research.
Still, interest rate expectations have been pulled forward
slightly - the eurodollar is now fully pricing in a Fed hike
between March and June of 2023. There is an 80% chance of a hike
in December 2022.
The Labor Department report on Wednesday showed U.S.
consumer prices increased more than expected as booming demand
in the reopening economy pushed against supply constraints. The
consumer price index jumped 0.8% last month versus the 0.2%
forecast by economists polled by Reuters. The Fed has argued that while inflation is rising, it is
likely temporary and will dip again by the end of the year.
"A lot of this near-term inflation is the result of all
sorts of strange anomalies that have been created by the
pandemic," said Frederick.
Mazen Issa, senior foreign exchange strategist at TD
Securities, said that in addition to base-year effects, which
Issa believes will peak in May, "The surge in prices you see in
the CPI report are also a reflection of reopening pressures.
Those should be transitory in nature. The old adage of - one
data point doesn't make a trend - applies here."
The rising dollar left the euro EUR=EBS 0.60% weaker at
$1.208. The single currency on Tuesday had hit a 2-1/2 month
high. The Japanese yen JPY=D3 was 0.87% weaker on the day at
109.58 and the British pound GBP=D3 was down 0.60% to $1.406.
In the digital space, cryptocurrency ether ETH=BTSP was
last down 2.72%, having backed off a record level of $4,380.64
set earlier in the day.
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