LONDON: The dollar fell on Tuesday ahead of a keenly anticipated US inflation report, while the euro and sterling strengthened after European data underlined the resilience of the labour market across the region.
The dollar index, which measures the performance of the US currency against six major rivals, fell 0.3% to 102.89 ahead of January’s consumer price report.
Markets are looking to inflation data for further clues on the Federal Reserve’s policy outlook, with the headline number expected to have risen by an annual 6.2% in January according to a Reuters poll, easing from December’s 6.5% rate.
By 1303 GMT, the euro was up 0.39% against the dollar at $1.0766, having fallen 2.5% from a 10-month high of $1.1034 on Feb 2.
Sterling rose 0.58% to $1.2211 to an 11-day high against the greenback. Elsewhere, Japan’s government named academic Kazuo Ueda as its pick to become the next central bank governor, with investors betting that the surprise choice could preclude an end to the unpopular yield-control policy. The Japanese yen strengthened 0.31% to 132.00 per dollar.