Strong Retail Sales, Falling Jobless Claims Buoys U.S. Dollar
April 18 2019 - 5:05AM
RTTF2
The U.S. dollar strengthened against its major counterparts in
the European session on Thursday, as the nation's retail sales grew
more than expected in March, while jobless claims touched near a
50-year low in the week ended April 13, signaling a pickup in
economic growth in the first quarter.
Data from the Commerce Department showed that U.S. retail sales
spiked much more than expected in March.
The Commerce Department said retail sales soared by 1.6 percent
in March after edging down by 0.2 percent in February. Economists
had expected retail sales to climb by 0.9 percent.
Excluding a jump in sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers,
retail sales still surged up by 1.2 percent in March following a
revised 0.2 percent dip in February.
Ex-auto sales had been expected to increase by 0.7 percent
compared to the 0.4 percent drop originally reported for the
previous month.
Data from the the Labor Department showed that first-time claims
for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly edged lower in the week
ended April 13, with jobless claims falling to a nearly 50-year
low.
The report said initial jobless claims dipped to 192,000, a
decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's revised level of
197,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 205,000 from
the 196,000 originally reported in the previous week.
Investors await U.S business inventories for February and
leading economic indicators for March, due at 10 am ET. Economists
expect inventories to climb by 0.4 percent and leading index to
rise by 0.3 percent.
The greenback traded mixed against its major counterparts in the
Asian session. While it fell against the pound and the yen, it held
steady against the franc and the euro.
The greenback appreciated to near a 2-week high of 1.2993
against the pound, after falling to 1.3053 at 1:45 am ET. The
greenback is likely to find resistance around the 1.28 level, if it
rises further.
Data from the Office for National Statistics showed that UK
retail sales grew at a faster rate than expected in March.
Retail sales grew 1.1 percent month-on-month in March, after a
0.6 percent rise in February. Economists had forecast a 0.4 percent
decline.
The greenback spiked up to 1.0138 against the franc, a level
unseen since March 2017. The greenback is seen finding resistance
around the 1.04 level.
Data from the Federal Customs Administration showed that
Switzerland's exports slowed in March after rising in the previous
month, while imports decreased further.
Exports edged up a real 0.1 percent month-on-month in March,
after a 1.5 percent rise in February.
The greenback rebounded to 112.03 against the yen, from a 6-day
low of 111.77 hit at 4:00 am ET. On the upside, 113.00 is possibly
seen as the next resistance level for the greenback.
The greenback strengthened to an 8-day high of 1.1236 against
the euro from yesterday's closing value of 1.1293. Further uptrend
is likely to take the greenback to a resistance around the 1.10
area.
Flash data from the IHS Markit showed that Eurozone private
sector expanded at the slowest pace for the second successive month
in April as manufacturing contracted and service sector growth
slowed.
The Eurozone Composite Purchasing Managers' Index fell to a
three-month low of 51.3 from 51.6 in March.
The greenback climbed to 2-day highs of 1.3400 against the
loonie and 0.7149 against the aussie, from its early lows of 1.3333
and 0.7198, respectively. The greenback is poised to find
resistance around 1.35 against the loonie and 0.70 against the
aussie.
Reversing from a low of 0.6730 hit at 6:15 pm ET, the greenback
edged up to 0.6679 against the kiwi. Next likely resistance for the
greenback is seen around the 0.65 level.
The U.S business inventories for February and leading economic
indicators for March are due at 10 am ET.
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