The U.S. dollar started the week on a strong note but the sentiment in the greenback was hit initially by the Bank of Japan’s announcement that it would decrease its bond purchases on the longer term bonds.

This sent the yen surging higher on the day. Later in the week, the ECB meeting minutes revealed a hawkish tone for the markets.

Data showed that officials were discussing tweaking the forward guidance. The euro surged pushing the USD weaker as a result.

Economic data from the U.S. was also seen to be mixed during the week.

U.S. consumer prices rise less than expected

Consumer prices in the United States for the month of December showed no signs of inflationary pressures, although inflation was seen rising slightly.

Data from the Labor Department showed that consumer prices rose 0.1% on a month over month basis in December, following November’s 0.4% increase. Forecasts expected a 0.2% increase.

Core CPI was seen rising 0.3%, performing better than the headline CPI.

In November, core CPI rose only 0.1%. Economists forecasted core CPI to rise 0.2%.

On an annual basis, consumer prices slowed to 2.1% in December while core CPI’s annual growth was seen at 1.8% for the month ending December.