News: FOREX-Nervous calm as dollar prepares for inflation test

Major currencies held steady on Wednesday, with traders cautious about placing large bets ahead of U.S. inflation data, which markets will scrutinise for guidance on how steeply the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in coming months.
The figures are due at 1230 GMT. Economists expect year-on-year headline inflation USCPNY=ECI to be running at a scorching 8.7%, a small retreat from June's whopping 9.1% figure. Core inflation is expected at 0.5% month-on-month USCPF=ECI .
The greenback was broadly steady, having paused a bit from a retreat that began in the middle of July.
It bought 135 Japanese yen JPY=EBS and sat at $1.0215 per euro EUR=EBS and $1.2089 versus sterling GBP=D3 , all little changed on the day and largely unchanged since the start of this week.
"All eyes are on U.S. CPI," said Carol Kong, a currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
"Currencies have been quiet this week, and barring a major news event we don't expect the dollar to move out its range before the data."
Traders expect reaction to turn on the core inflation figure.
"The market will initially get more excited by a downside core CPI surprise than an upside surprise," said Deutsche Bank strategist Alan Ruskin. A downward surprise would feed into hopes that falling commodity prices mean inflation can quickly recede.
"It will also play to the market's recent proclivity to buy risk dips, and will be a broad-based negative for the U.S. dollar," he said.
"An upside core CPI surprise will fit with the pattern of the last three releases...the purist long dollar trade in this instance is versus the yen," he said, adding dollar/yen could rise into a range of 135 to 139 per dollar.
A quick reading on policymakers' reaction may come from Fed officials Charles Evans and Neel Kashkari, who are due to make speeches at 1500 GMT and 1800 GMT, though they will have another set of price data in August before September's policy meeting.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were also calm, with the Aussie AUD=D3 last at $0.6967, just above its 50-day moving average. The kiwi NZD=D3 traded at $0.6295.
Chinese inflation data on Wednesday showed a small increase in annual consumer inflation, to 2.7%, and a slowdown in factory-gate price growth. HSBC analysts said the still muted CPI figure indicated "ongoing pressure in the consumption recovery".
In offshore trade, the yuan CNH=EBS lost a little ground to 6.762 per dollar.
Bitcoin BTC=BTSP , rattled by a drumbeat of cryptocurrency fund wipeouts and thefts over recent months, was at $23,000 on Wednesday.
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	Currency bid prices at 0758 GMT 
 Description	  RIC		 Last		   U.S. Close  Pct Change	 YTD Pct	 High Bid	Low Bid 
											  Previous				   Change				  
											  Session											
 Euro/Dollar	   EUR=EBS	$1.0214		$1.0213	 +0.02%		 -10.14%	 +1.0219	 +1.0203 
 Dollar/Yen		JPY=EBS	134.9250	   135.1250	-0.12%		 +17.34%	 +135.2950   +134.9100 
 Euro/Yen		 																			 
 Dollar/Swiss	  CHF=EBS	0.9511		 0.9537	  -0.27%		 +4.28%	  +0.9544	 +0.9510 
 Sterling/Dollar   GBP=D3	 1.2087		 1.2075	  +0.12%		 -10.61%	 +1.2091	 +1.2066 
 Dollar/Canadian   CAD=D3	 1.2875		 1.2883	  -0.06%		 +1.83%	  +1.2895	 +1.2875 
 Aussie/Dollar	 AUD=D3	 0.6966		 0.6962	  +0.08%		 -4.15%	  +0.6972	 +0.6947 
 NZ				NZD=D3	 0.6295		 0.6288	  +0.08%		 -8.06%	  +0.6296	 +0.6277 
 Dollar/Dollar																				   
All spots FX= Tokyo spots AFX= Europe spots EFX= Volatilities FXVOL= Tokyo Forex market info from BOJ TKYFX
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World FX rates	https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E 
US CPI https://tmsnrt.rs/3QwZU0C
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