### POV: US December CPI came in as..........>

DOLLAR: ### POV: US December CPI came in as expected by analysts, rising 0.1% in

the month. This stands well below the 0.3% rumoured outcome and highlighted by

our data team that the whisper number has missed 75% of the time with an

absolute average miss of 0.19% from the actual value. (See MNI 5 Things To Look

For, posted yesterday on the Main Wire at 1845GMT.)

- Core CPI rose above expectations at 0.3%, driven by owners equivalent rents

which saw Usd/Jpy recover off its earlier traded 3-month low (Y110.97) to

Y111.69.

- Since MNI's survey started 25 years ago, December Core CPI has never been

underestimated and infact very rarely misses at all.

- MNI Pinch now calculates the chances of a rate hike in March has now increased

to 85%, in keeping with the Fed's 3 hikes in 2018.

- RISK: With the market very short dollars and the improvement in US data, risks

are the dollar move higher accelerates. The Y112.00 area seen key in Usd/Jpy

where it has based a number of times previously and topped out yesterday.