- Mark Vitner, a senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities
This week was expected to bring a lot of pain for the greenback, as fundamental data is likely to indicate the weakness of the world's largest economy. Hence, the greenback was unlikely to gain versus the Euro, even despite the fact it will remain under pressure until June 5. Nevertheless, the U.S. Dollar appreciated 0.07% to 1.3636 versus the single currency, as a bunch of economic reports came stronger-than-expected.
It is a well-known fact that the U.S. economy is highly dependent on the consumer spending, hence, it is vital to keep households optimistic. Therefore, a pickup in the consumers' confidence was highly welcomed by markets. A report from the New York-based private research group showed a gauge of consumer morale increased to 83 in May following a reading of 81.7 a month earlier, coming in line with the consensus forecast. The indicator usually produces high market volatility as consumer morale is highly correlated to spending.
A separate report from the Census Bureau showed orders for long-lasting goods unexpectedly jumped in April. The demand for durable goods rose 0.8% over the period, pushed higher by defence capital goods orders and receipts for fabricated metal products. Nevertheless, a drop in the capital spending can temper expectations for a rebound in growth in the second quarter.
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