US dollar surges on CPI data

The US dollar has continued to surge since the beginning of daily trading on Thursday, driven by the rise in the monthly reading of the US Consumer Price Index for last September.

The dollar index, which measures the performance of the US currency against a basket of major currencies, surged to 106.37 points compared to the last daily close, which recorded 105.82 points. The index fell to its lowest level on the current trading day at 105.54 oil, compared to the highest level recorded at 106.41.

The US consumer price index rose by 0.4% compared to last September, which recorded an increase of 0.6%, which was higher than market expectations that indicated an increase of 0.3%, according to the monthly reading.

Annualized inflation in consumer prices did not witness any change last month compared to the previous month, recording 3.7%, which is the same reading recorded last August and also indicated by expectations.

The US Consumer Price Index excluding food and energy prices saw no change at all last September compared to the previous month’s performance, which was in line with market expectations. The index recorded an increase of 0.3% on a monthly basis.

Annual inflation in consumer prices, excluding food and energy prices, rose to 4.1% last September, which was lower than the rise achieved the previous month to 4.3%. But the numbers recorded in the actual reading were in line with expectations, which indicated 4.1%.