The Greenback strengthened against the European single currency, following the release of US retail sales report. The EUR/USD currency pair gained nine base points, or 0.07%, reaching the 1.2392 level, to continue fluctuating in the 1.2375 area.
The US Census Bureau revealed on Wednesday that US retail sales data did not meet the expectations, instead the gauge fell by 0.1% in March, continuing the slowdown in the first quarter of 2018. This was the third consecutive month of declines in the US retail sales since April 2012. One of the main reasons for the negative retail sales data is the decrease in household spending on motor vehicles and other big–ticket items.
Historical Data Table: US Retail Sales m/m | Economic Calendar for 15.03.2018 | ||||||||
Date | 15.11.2017 | 14.12.2017 | 12.01.2018 | 14.02.2018 | 14.03.2018 | 8:15 PM | CHF PPI m/m | ||
Actual | 0.50% | 0.90% | 0.00% | -0.10% | -0.10% | 8:30 PM | CHF Libor Rate | ||
Forecast | 0.00% | 0.30% | 0.50% | 0.20% | 0.30% | 12:30 PM | USD Import Prices m/m | ||
Initial Reaction on Main Pairs | SWFX Sentiment Indexes | ||||||||
Open Price | Close Price | % Change | Longs | Shorts | |||||
AUD/USD | 0.79057 | 0.79122 | 0.08% | AUD/USD | 58.87% | 41.13% | |||
EUR/USD | 1.23835 | 1.23923 | 0.07% | EUR/USD | 42.35% | 57.65% | |||
USD/JPY | 106.504 | 106.353 | -0.14% | USD/JPY | 63.36% | 36.64% | |||
NZD/USD | 0.73401 | 0.73459 | 0.08% | NZD/USD | 35.11% | 64.89% |