Kiwi Flies As Inflation Highest In More Than 5 Years

 | Apr 20, 2017 03:10AM ET

In a surprise beat on the estimates, New Zealand's first quarter inflation rate nudged higher, rising 1.0% in the quarter, sending the inflation rate to 2.2%. It was the highest in more than 5-years as inflation edged back into the RBNZ's target range. The NZD/USD posted strong gains, rising 0.43% at the time of writing, trading near intraday highs of 0.7033.

Elsewhere, the British pound managed to hold on its gains from earlier in the week. The UK parliament approved Mrs. May's calls for early elections by an overwhelming majority setting the stage for a June election. The Eurostat confirmed that inflation eased in the Eurozone yesterday, rising 1.5% on the headline and 0.7% on the core as per the preliminary report.

Lack of any clear catalysts during the day saw most of the currencies trading on local cues. Looking ahead, the economic calendar today is void of any major news events. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is expected to speak later today while on the data front, the weekly jobless claims and the Philly Fed manufacturing index will be released.

EUR/USD intra-day analysis