NEW YORK: The US dollar fell to three-week lows on Tuesday after data showed inflation making strong gains in March, though the rise was not expected to alter the Federal Reserve’s commitment to keeping interest rates at rock-bottom levels for years to come.
The consumer price index jumped 0.6% last month, the largest gain since August 2012, after rising 0.4% in February, the Labour Department said on Tuesday. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the CPI rose 0.3%. The so-called core CPI nudged up 0.1% in February.
The dollar briefly spiked on the data, before reversing course and dipping to three-week lows. Treasury yields also fell after the data.
The dollar index fell as low as 91.93, the lowest level since March 23. The euro gained 0.24% to $1.1940. The greenback fell 0.22% to 109.16 Japanese yen.
The Australian dollar, which is a proxy for global risk appetite, was little changed on the day at $0.7623.
The New Zealand dollar gained 0.20% to $0.7042. The country’s central bank is expected on Wednesday to leave interest rates and its quantitative easing program unchanged.
Bitcoin hit a record $63,275, extending its 2021 rally to new heights a day before the listing of Coinbase shares in the United States.
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