The U.S. dollar was seen trading a bit weaker on Friday with the markets showing a mixed sentiment overall. The Japanese yen maintained its dominance as the currency continued to appreciate against the U.S. dollar. The sterling was also seen trading stronger on the day.
Economic data was sparse. The day started off with Tokyo core CPI rising at a slower pace of 0.9% but matched expectations. Core CPI was slower compared to the 1.0% increase the month before.
In the Eurozone, Germany’s inflation estimates showed a slower pace of increase of just 0.1% on the month. This was below estimates of a 0.3% increase and marked the same pace of increase as the month before.
Spain’s inflation estimates were also weaker, rising 1.2% on the year, down from 1.7% previously. The NY trading session saw Chicago PMI beating estimates to rise to 65.4. However, the activity was weaker compared to 66.4 previously. Pending home sales were down 0.7% on the month following a 2.6% decline previously.
The economic data for the day is relatively quiet. Earlier today, Australia’s private sector credit showed an increase of 0.3%. China’s manufacturing PMI for December was also released. The data showed that manufacturing activity eased to 49.3 in December while the non-manufacturing PMI was seen rising to 53.8.
