Breaking: US annual CPI inflation rises to 7.9% in February versus 7.9% expected

Inflation in the US, as measured by the headline Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose to 7.9% YoY in February, up from 7.5% in January, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Thursday. That was in line median economist forecasts for a reading of 7.9%. The MoM pace of headline price growth was also in line with median economist forecasts at 0.8%, up from January's 0.6% MoM pace of growth. Core CPI came in at 6.4% YoY (in line with expected), up from January's 6.0% reading. MoM, rose at a pace of 0.5%, in line with expected and a tad slower after January's 0.6% MoM reading. 

Market Reaction

FX markets do not seem to have reacted much to the latest US CPI release. If anything, the dollar is coming off a little. Perhaps some traders had been positioned for an upside surprise (i.e. for headline YoY CPI above 8.0%). The DXY is currently dropping back a little from the 98.00 level. But focus has now turned to remarks from ECB President Christine Lagarde in her post-ECB meeting press conference.