Risk -sensitive currency movements were limited in the Asian session after witnessing the release of disappointing Chinese inflation data in January.
The consumer price index (CPI) fell below market expectations by only registering an increase of 0.9% last month compared to the forecast of a 1.0% increase. The figure also shows a decrease from 1.5% recorded the previous month.
This indirectly provides an opportunity for policymakers of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) to continue implementing its monetary easing amid the increasing contagion of Omicron variants.
As a result of the ‘zero Covid-19’ policy implemented by Beijing, some economic activities continued to show slow growth due to weak consumption demand.
Meanwhile, China's producer price index (PPI) also showed a decline by 9.1% from 10.3% previously, and fell short of expectations to rise 9.5%.
The reaction shown by the Aussie dollar saw the currency change little by trading steady at 0.71500 against the US dollar. It previously increased after concerns over the geopolitical crisis of Russia and Ukraine eased.
Meanwhile, the kiwi dollar depreciated slightly by hovering around 0.6620 against the greenback. The movement of the kiwi continued to be influenced by current sentiment in the market as no major economic data from New Zealand was published this week.
