XE Market Analysis: North America – May 18, 2018

EUR-USD ebbed back under 1.1800 as market participants cast a wary eye on political developments in Italy, though Wednesday’s five-month low at 1.1763 remained untroubled. The 10-year U.S. T-note yield also touched a new seven-year high above 3.11%, before backing to around 3.10%. USD-JPY traded above 111.00 for the first time since January, a move driven principally by yen weakness following data showing a dip in Japanese inflation. Headline April CPI fell to a rate of 0.6% y/y from 1.1% y/y in March, while core CPI ebbed to 0.7% y/y from 0.9% y/y.