News: FOREX-Euro weighed down by waning hopes for peace in Ukraine, kiwi wobbles

RBNZ hikes 50bps; kiwi blips higher, then drops
Putin calls peace talks a "dead end," euro falls
CAD firm as Bank of Canada poised to hike
The euro was pinned to a five-week low on Wednesday as prospects for peace in Ukraine seemed to darken, while the kiwi was whipsawed after New Zealand's central bank announced its sharpest rate hike in two decades to curb inflation.
While the 50 basis point hike by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand was larger than many economists had expected, it was within traders' expectations, and policymakers tempered the move by not lifting their projected peak for rates.
The Bank of Canada meets later on Wednesday and is also expected to deliver its sharpest hike since 2000 as policymakers around the world start hastening efforts to contain growing price pressures. BOCWATCH
The kiwi NZD=D3 flickered as high as $0.6902 after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand lifted its official cash rate (OCR) to 1.5%.
But the currency recoiled from resistance around its 200-day moving average, and was last nearly 1.5% below its intraday high at $0.6811, as the central bank framed its actions as pulling forward hikes without changing its outlook.
Analysts reckoned support for the currency might be shortlived.
"It's sort of a dovish 50-point hike," said Jason Wong, senior markets strategist at BNZ in Wellingon.
"They're saying it's just a bringing forward of a hike and the RBNZ hasn't really changed it's view on the OCR outlook from the February statement," he added, noting that the market has a far more hawkish peak rate forecast than the central bank does.
Elsewhere, traders were unmoved by a slight stiffening in Japanese officials' language about the fast-weakening yen, which was under considerable pressure at 125.60 per dollar, within a whisker of breaking a major support level at 125.86.
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said the government was watching currency moves with a sense of urgency.
The yen had enjoyed a moment's respite overnight when cooler-than-expected U.S. inflation data set bonds rallying and investors hoping that price pressures might have peaked.
A second straight monthly decline in prices of used cars held core CPI to a 0.3% gain in March, against an expected 0.5% rise. But, since headline annual inflation nevertheless came in at an eyewatering 8.5% and rapid rate hikes still loom, it wasn't enough to drive investors out of dollars.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's description of on-and-off peace negotiations as "a dead-end situation" on Tuesday also put a weight on the euro and sterling, which have been vulnerable to concern about the war's economic fallout.
The euro EUR=EBS dropped to $1.0821 overnight and hovered nearby at $1.0835 in the Asian session. Sterling GBP=D3 , which has been pegged near $1.30, held at $1.3001.
The Australian dollar AUD=D3 and Chinese yuan also weakened slightly after a surprise plunge in China's imports added to investor worries about weakening demand.
Dollar denominated imports fell 0.1%, the first drop since August 2020, against expectations for a rise of 8% and the Aussie AUD=D3 wobbled 0.1% lower to $0.7445.
The yuan CNY=CFXS inched marginally lower after the data to hold steady for the day at 6.3661 per dollar.
The Canadian dollar CAD=D3 firmed through its 200-day moving average to C$1.2614 in Asia, though traders are jittery ahead of the Bank of Canada meeting, especially as the market is slightly short USD/CAD. CADNETUSD=
"I think the risk around the Bank of Canada meeting is that they sound balanced enough to trigger a wipeout of USD/CAD shorts," said Brent Donnelly, president at analytics firm Spectra Markets.
Policy decisions are due in Singapore and Europe later in the week.
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	Currency bid prices at 0518 GMT 
 Description	  RIC		 Last		   U.S. Close  Pct Change	 YTD Pct	 High Bid	Low Bid 
											  Previous				   Change				  
											  Session											
 Euro/Dollar	   EUR=EBS	$1.0832		$1.0826	 +0.05%		 +0.00%	  +1.0840	 +1.0812 
 Dollar/Yen		JPY=EBS	125.6550	   125.3550	+0.15%		 +0.00%	  +125.7200   +125.3550 
 Euro/Yen		 																			 
 Dollar/Swiss	  CHF=EBS	0.9329		 0.9324	  +0.05%		 +0.00%	  +0.9338	 +0.9324 
 Sterling/Dollar   GBP=D3	 1.3000		 1.3000	  +0.00%		 +0.00%	  +1.3014	 +1.2987 
 Dollar/Canadian   CAD=D3	 1.2628		 1.2641	  -0.09%		 +0.00%	  +1.2642	 +1.2611 
 Aussie/Dollar	 AUD=D3	 0.7444		 0.7455	  -0.15%		 +0.00%	  +0.7475	 +0.7443 
 NZ				NZD=D3	 0.6818		 0.6850	  -0.46%		 -0.38%	  +0.6901	 +0.6810 
 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 
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