- NZD/USD softens to near 0.5830 in Monday’s Asian session.
- China’s Retail Sales rose 0.2% YoY in April; Industrial Production climbed 4.1% YoY in the same period.
- A surge in US inflation has triggered a shift in Fed expectations toward a rate hike.
The NZD/USD pair trades in negative territory around 0.5830 during the Asian trading hours on Monday. The New Zealand Dollar (NZD) faces some selling pressure following the downbeat Chinese economic data.
Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday showed that China’s Retail Sales rose 0.2% YoY in April, compared to 1.7% in March. This figure came in weaker than the market expectations of 2.0%.
Additionally, Industrial Production climbed 4.1% YoY in the same period, versus 5.7% prior, below the market consensus of 5.9%. The China-proxy Kiwi weakens after the release of the weaker Chinese economic data.
On the USD’s front, traders raise their bets that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will hike interest rates this year. Several Fed officials this week stated that keeping inflation pressures in check was a top priority, while others did not rule out the possibility that rate hikes may be needed if price pressures kept rising.
Markets are now pricing in nearly a 48.4% odds the Fed could hike rates by at least 25 basis points (bps) at its December meeting, compared with 14.3% a week ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
