Home Daily Commentaries US dollar strength is back after strong retail sales

US dollar strength is back after strong retail sales

Daily Currency Update

USD - United States DollarThe US dollar jumps 0.36 percent after retail sales surged by the greatest amount since September 2017, indicating that consumers continue to support the American economy. In general, sales in March increased 1.6 percent after an unrevised 0.2 percent decrease in the prior month. Twelve of thirteen major retail categories and sales at clothing stores rose 2 percent, while food services posted a 0.8 percent gain. In all cases, these numbers were higher than the previous ones. Furthermore, another report released Thursday showed that filings for unemployment benefits fell last week to a fresh a 49-year low. The equity market climbed along with the US dollar after this news.Later at noon EST, Bostic, a Fed official, is going to speak at an Economic Roundtable Event in Florida.

Key Movers

The weakness in the Euro this morning is also helping the strength of the US dollar after the release of the IHS Markit Flash Germany PMI in the European session (PMI for the Eurozone came in at 51.3, below expectations). Growth of Germany’s private sector economy remained subdued at the start of the second quarter of the year, and it was weighed down by an export-led contraction in goods production. According to Reuters, the German government is considering incentives to increment corporate research and development after cutting its forecast for 2019 economic growth for the second time in three months, reflecting a worsening slowdown driven by a recession in manufacturing. German exporters are struggling with anemic demand from abroad as well. The EUR/USD pair is falling 0.41 percent and it is trading at 1.1245 at the time of this writi

Expected Ranges

  • USD/CAD: 1.3294 - 1.3399 ▲
  • EUR/USD: 1.1224 - 1.1277 ▼
  • GBP/USD: 1.3000 - 1.3075 ▼
  • AUD/USD: 0.7114 - 0.7167 ▼
  • NZD/USD: 0.6654 - 0.6722 ▼