Daily FNArena News - FYI

March inflation in the US was less than expected, but the Bank of England has been asked to “please explain”.

Forecasts for the Australian dollar against the US currency are being revised higher as conditions remain in favour of further gains.

The release of the New Zealand CPI is usually a precursor to inflation indicators in Australia.

An Aussie dollar above US$0.82 is a rare occurrence but specialists at Deutsche Bank and Commbank see higher highs in the coming weeks.

ANZ Bank notes the recent spate of mergers and takeovers in the Australian market is positive for the currency as overseas buyers must also buy Australian dollars to complete their acquisitions.

Due to persistent technical problems there will be no weekly editorial today.

For the first time since Lehman Bros started keeping records, foreign currency denominated bond issues will exceed US dollar issues.

As the focus swings to betting on a May rate rise in Australia, housing finance and employment data will be closely scrutinised this week.

Weekly musings from your editor.

The futures market is hedging its bets, but economists are leaning towards more observation rather than action from the RBA this week. Investors are likely to closely watch any developments in renewed trade tensions between the US and China.