- Yen slips to one-week low as traders watch for Japan stimulus details
- Sterling under pressure after inflation data buoys bets for rate cut
- Currency trading subdued in absence of clear catalysts
- Oil price rise boosts Norwegian crown
LONDON/TOKYO, Oct 23 (Reuters) - The dollar drifted higher against most peers, particularly the Japanese yen, on Thursday as traders waited for the delayed release of U.S. consumer inflation data on Friday and digested trade threats between Washington and Beijing.
The U.S. currency was last up 0.38% on the yen at 152.44 while the euro was marginally lower at $1.1604, largely in the middle of its recent range.
"There's a lot of uncertainty given the U.S. shutdown and the lack of data, so some traders are keeping their powder dry and there's also a degree of nervousness ahead of U.S. CPI," said Nick Rees, head of macro research at Monex Europe.
The inflation data is being released despite the shutdown, to assist the U.S. Social Security Administration with its annual cost-of-living adjustment for 2026.
FEDERAL RESERVE FOCUS HAS SHIFTED
And, although the Federal Reserve's policy-setting focus has shifted from inflation to the state of the U.S. labour market, the numbers will be closely watched.
"The data will be significant for slightly different reasons to normal. Clearly Fed has moved on from CPI, but we can still take that data and make some assumptions about consumer spending and growth," said Rees.
Domestic factors also weighed on the yen, which was heading back towards last week's seven-month low of 153.29 yen per dollar, which it hit earlier this week after Sanae Takaichi, widely viewed as a fiscal and monetary dove, was chosen to lead Japan's ruling party.
Now Takaichi is installed as Prime Minister, the market is awaiting details of a stimulus package in order to trade the fact rather than the rumour.
"Buying based on policy hopes from a Takaichi government has already run its course," said Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities.
"The market is now at a point where it needs to assess concrete policies and their feasibility."
Elsewhere sterling was steady at $1.335 having largely bounced back from its Wednesday fall on weaker-than-expected consumer inflation data that caused markets to increase their bets on another Bank of England rate cut this year.
Smaller European currencies also attracted some market attention on Thursday, with the Norwegian crown appreciating on the rise in oil prices.
The dollar was last down 0.3% on the Norwegian currency at 9.9949 crowns, dipping below the 10 crown level for the first time in two weeks, while the euro hit a one-month low of 11.58 crowns.
The Swiss National Bank's first published meeting minutes did little to move the franc, which was slightly weaker at 0.797 per dollar and 0.9248 per euro.
But the Swiss currency is still close to the 0.92 per euro level that Societe Generale FX derivatives strategist Olivier Korber said in a note could trigger the SNB to intervene in markets to weaken the currency.
"We think that FX intervention risk now looks maximal so that EUR/CHF could bounce imminently," he wrote.
Reporting by Kevin Buckland; Editing by Jacqueline Wong, Kim Coghill and Barbara Lewis
Source: Reuters