The US Dollar Exchange Rate was trading in the region of 0.6429 against the Pound as of 14:33 pm GMT
As widely predicted by economists, advance US retail sales have shown a third consecutive month of improvement, adding to the view that progress in the labour market is buoying growth in spite of tax increases.
According to the Commerce Department, December’s unrevised 0.5 per cent increase in retail sales was followed by a more modest 0.1 per cent gain in January.
As a senior economist with Ameriprise Financial Inc stated: ‘Consumers held up a little bit better than people were expecting, considering the rise in payroll taxes. We’ve been seeing pretty good, though certainly not robust, employment growth. That’s providing consumers with the income fuel that they need to maintain their spending.’
Of the 13 main retail categories 6 recorded improvement. General merchandise stores experienced the best increase, and the 1.1 per cent gain was the largest achieved for ten months.
Today’s report also showed that retail sales excluding autos climbed by 0.2 per cent in January compared with the previous months 0.3 per cent increase in December, 0.1 per cent better than economists predicted.
Despite this positive news the US Dollar continued to decline against the Euro, dropping against the common currency for a third day on the back of stronger-than-expected industrial output figures for the Eurozone.
As one foreign exchange strategist put it, the output data reiterated the fact that ‘financial conditions in the Eurozone have improved, and these are all factors that are supporting growth in the Eurozone in the near-term, although we do expect to see an economic slowdown later on in the first quarter.’
Although the ‘Greenback’ shed a modest 0.2 per cent against the Euro after this news was released it remained relatively unchanged against the Japanese Yen, despite the latter currency broadly softening in response to comments made by current Bank of England governor Mervyn King. After King asserted that currencies should be permitted to fluctuate on the basis of fiscal-stimulus methods, concerns that the G-20 (which meets on Friday) would criticise Japan’s actions lessened, causing the Yen to fall.
The US Dollar was able to post a notable advance on the British Pound however, after the Bank of England’s most recent inflation report triggered widespread Sterling losses.
Whilst this afternoon’s US business inventories data could cause additional ‘Greenback’ movement in the hours ahead investors will be looking forward to tomorrow’s US initial jobless claims figures.
A separate report compiled by the Labour Department showed that the cost of goods imported into the US increased for the first time in three months last month, largely due to pricier building materials and fuel.
Current US Dollar Exchange Rates
The US Dollar to Euro exchange rate is currently trading at 0.7420
The US Dollar to Pound Sterling exchange rate is currently trading at 0.6429
The US Dollar to Canadian Dollar exchange rate is currently trading at 1.0028
The US Dollar to Australian Dollar exchange rate is currently trading at 0.9668
The US Dollar to New Zealand Dollar exchange rate is currently trading at 1.1891
The US Dollar to Emirati Dirham exchange rate is currently trading at 3.6729
The US Dollar to Swiss Franc is currently trading at 0.9174
The US Dollar to Japanese Yen exchange rate is currently trading at 93.5000
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