Dollar Stable Ahead Of Inflation, Jobless Claims Data

Dollar Stable Ahead Of Inflation, Jobless Claims Data

The dollar was steady Thursday morning in New York, as traders paused for the deluge of economic data coming before the opening bell on Wall Street.

While jobless claims figures will be paid much attention, plenty of focus will be on consumer price inflation data from the Commerce Department.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has insisted that inflation is well under control, but some economists say prices are creeping up and will accelerate higher if the Fed maintains its extremely accommodative monetary policy.

The dollar was little changed at $1.3557 versus the euro, and drifted lower to $1.6125 against thesterling.

Early losses against the sterling were caused by hawkish comments from a voting member of the Bank of England.

Inflationary pressure in the UK is greater than the central bank yesterday projected in its Inflation Report, according to policy maker Andrew Sentance.

He said a rise in the interest rate will raise sterling moderately, mitigating global inflationary pressure in the short run, and will also help bring inflation back to the target over the medium term.

The buck kept most of its recent gains against the yen, staying near Y85.65.

Looking at today's economic calendar from the U.S., the consumer price index for January is scheduled to be released at 8:30 AM ET. The consensus estimates call for a 0.3 percent increase in the consumer price index, while the core consumer price index that excludes food and energy is likely to have risen 0.1 percent.

The Labor Department is due to release its customary jobless claims report for the week ended February 12th at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists expect claims to increase to 410,000.

The Conference Board is scheduled to release a report on the U.S. leading index for January at 10.00 a.m. ET. The consensus estimate calls for a 0.2 percent increase in the leading indicators index for the month.