Dollar Up Alongside Euro, Investors Await U.S. Inflation Data

The dollar was up on Tuesday morning in Asia. A strong euro remained just below strong resistance levels as U.S. inflation data due later in the week, wary that it could trigger gains for the U.S. currency.

The U.S. Dollar Index that tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies was up 0.22% to 95.605 by 1:36 PM ET (5:36 AM GMT).

The USD/JPY pair was up 0.28% to 115.44.

The AUD/USD pair was down 0.24% to 0.7108 and the NZD/USD pair inched down 0.02% to 0.6631.

The USD/CNY pair inched down 0.02% to 6.3606 and the GBP/USD pair edged down 0.15% to 1.3514.

The euro jumped 2.7% during the previous week after the European Central Bank (ECB) sprang a surprise hawkish shift in tone during the previous week. The single currency has held gains but was unable to beat resistance around the $1.1483 mark. European bond yields were on an upward trend and the euro last bought $1.1441.

A much stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report during the previous week emphasized the spotlight on inflation, as investors bet on the implications for the U.S. Federal Reserve’s monetary policy tightening deadline.

Futures markets are pricing a 1-in-3 chance that the Fed will hike interest rates by 50-basis points in March 2022, and the probability of aggressive hikes afterward has given the dollar a boost.

“The surprise beat by the non-farm payroll numbers (which we were warned by Fed officials and the White House would be very weak due to Omicron) leaves the Fed in an unexpected territory,” NatWest (LON:NWG) Markets rates strategist Jan Nevruzi told Reuters.

“The CPI will be critical on how the narrative develops until the March (meeting),” he added, while also predicting that barring a big surprise, March will probably bring only a 25-basis points hike.

Although Tuesday looks to be quiet in terms of data releases, investors are already looking ahead to the U.S. inflation data, including the consumer price index, due on Thursday.

In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin rose above its 50-day average to top the $44,000 mark for the first time in nearly a month on Monday. It is currently up more than 17% in four sessions.