HONG KONG, April 12 — Asian shares were down while the US dollar held strong today, as Treasury yields spiked to a three year high ahead of US inflation data which could foreshadow even more aggressive interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.
The yen has been under the gun over recent months as the Bank of Japan has committed to ultra easy policy even as many other major central banks, led by the Fed, have embarked on tightening monetary conditions. World markets have been hit hard in the past few months on worries the Ukraine war, Fed’s tightening and China’s tough new Covid-19 restrictions could set back global growth.
Economists polled by Reuters forecast the US consumer price index today would post an 8.4 per cent year-over-year increase in March.