Fed's George Says Not Dismissing Risk Of Higher Inflation

The greenback is slightly higher in early trade, Fed's George spoke late on and said she is not dismissing the risk of higher inflation, she was positive on the outlook for the economy but noted that progress still needed to be made in the recovery.

• AUD/USD is up around 3 pips. ANZ consumer confidence rose 1.5% to 114.2, the gain was driven by financial conditions. Meanwhile there are new coronavirus restrictions announced in Melbourne. The restrictions stop short of a lockdown, but gatherings have been limited and facemasks are mandatory.
• NZD/USD is up 6 pips, the RBNZ recently confirmed that the Term Lending Facility will close on Jul 28, after the completion of the final scheduled facility window.
• USD/JPY is flat, reports in the Yomiuri have noted that Japan will extend the life of its zero-interest loan programme. Markets look ahead to machine tool orders data.
• Offshore yuan is slightly weaker, USD/CNH is up 29 pips. Elsewhere EC President von der Leyen said there is no alternative to full and correct implementation of the Irish protocol in UK ties the problems stem from Brexit not from the Irish protocol. GBP and EUR are both little changed on the reports.