Foreign Exchange Market Update

May 20, 2026

Eurozone

Euro traded at 1.1633 against USD at 9:00 AM PST

Eurozone inflation accelerated in April, driven by higher energy prices. The harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) posted an annual increase of 3.0% in April, up from 2.6% in March. Meanwhile, core inflation, which excludes prices of energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, softened to 2.2% in April from 2.3% in the previous month.

Among main components of HICP, energy recorded the largest annual growth of 10.8%. This was followed by the 3.0% rise in services costs. Food, alcohol, and tobacco prices rose 2.4%, and non-energy industrial goods prices gained 0.8%. Monthly, the HICP climbed 1.0% in April. 05/20/2026 - 05:34:00 (RTTNews) 

Germany's producer prices increased at the strongest pace in nearly three years in April. Producer prices grew 1.7% year-on-year in April, following a 0.2% fall in March. The rate was the highest since May 2023 and marked the first rise since February 2025.

Intermediate goods prices moved up 2.6%. At the same time, prices of capital goods and energy rose 2.0%. Durable consumer goods cost was up 1.9%. By contrast, non-durable consumer goods prices were 1.0% lower than in the same period last year. Excluding energy, producer prices climbed 1.6% from last year. Monthly, producer prices grew 1.2% in April. 05/20/2026 - 03:58:00 (RTTNews)

United Kingdom Inflation Softens on Lower Energy Bills

British Pound traded at 1.3455 against USD at 9:00 AM PST

U.K. consumer price inflation eased in April reflecting the fall in energy bills due to the price cap. Consumer price inflation slowed to 2.8% in April from 3.3% in March. Excluding food, energy, alcohol and tobacco, core inflation softened to 2.5% from 3.1% in March.

Last month, the BoE maintained its bank rate at 3.75%. The increase in goods prices rose to 2.4% from 2.1%, while services inflation eased to 3.2% from 4.5%. Monthly, overall consumer prices rose at a steady pace of 0.7%.

Both input and output price inflation accelerated in April due to higher crude oil and refined petroleum product prices. Factory gate inflation rose to 4.0% from 3.0% in the prior month. At the same time, input price inflation shot up to 7.7% from 5.3% last month.

House prices remained unchanged on a yearly basis in March compared to an increase of 1.7% in February. The annual house price inflation slowed because monthly prices dropped 0.4% in March. 05/20/2026 - 08:50:00 (RTTNews)

China Keeps Loan Prime Rates Unchanged

China maintained its loan prime rates unchanged for the twelfth straight month on Wednesday. The People's Bank of China maintained its one-year loan prime rate at 3.0%. Similarly, the five-year loan prime rate (LPR), the benchmark for mortgage rates, was retained at 3.50%.

Previously, the bank had reduced both LPRs by quarter points in October 2024 and by 10 basis points each in May 2025. The central bank sets the LPR monthly based on the submissions of 20 designated banks, though Beijing has influence over the fixing. The LPR replaced the traditional benchmark lending rate in August 2019. 05/20/2026 - 01:08:00 (RTTNews)

Taiwan Export Order Growth Eases in April

Taiwan's export order growth moderated in April after rebounding sharply in the previous month. Export orders grew 48.1% year-over-year in April, slower than the 65.9% surge in March. Orders for information and communication products grew 89.7% from last year. Demand for electronic products climbed by 45.9%, and those for mineral products rose 70.3%, while those for transport equipment declined by 0.9%. 05/20/2026 - 08:00:00 (RTTNews)