Euro is generally lower this week so far on renewed concern over Greece. In particular, there is some pressure after a European commission spokesman said that the summit in Latvia this week is unlikely to yield in breakthrough in the negotiation. While EU commissioner on economics said that there have been substantial progress in the talks, time in running out for Athens. Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras also admitted the country is running out of funds but he noted that "the lack of liquidity is neither the choice nor the responsibility of the Greek government... It is a tough negotiating tactic of our partners, and I do not know whether everybody in Europe feels proud of it". Eurozone will release German ZEW economic sentiment today, which is expected to show deterioration in May. Eurozone will also release CPI final. Meanwhile, UK CPI and PPI will be watched.
Dollar is mildly firmer against other major currencies and pared back some of this month's loss. The greenback is supported by surging treasury yields and stocks. 30 year yield is back above 3% handle and closed at 3.019% overnight. 10 year yield also gained and closed at 2.228%. Meanwhile, US made new record highs even though the momentum of the rally was relatively weak. DJIA closed 26.32 pts, or 0.14% up at 18298.88. S&P 500 closed up 6.47 pts, or 0.3% at 2129.20. Both were record close. US will release housing starts and building permits later today.
Released earlier today, RBA minutes noted that "members agreed that... the statement communicating the decision would not contain any guidance on the future path of monetary policy." And, "members did not see this as limiting the Board's scope for action that might be appropriate at future meetings." Australian conference board leading index dropped -0.1% in March. Released from New Zealand, PPI inputs dropped -1.1% qoq in Q1 versus expectation of -0.6% qoq. PPI outputs dropped -0.9% qoq versus expectation of 0.1% qoq. RBNZ 2 year inflation expectation rose 1.9% in Q2.