The U.S. Dollar edged broadly higher during Friday’s Asian trade, boosted there from unexpectedly strong retail sales data from the U.S., which helped the U.S. Dollar Index move away from Wednesday’s 6-week trough. The Euro, meanwhile, suffered a setback and edged off the recently struck 6-week high following news that October’s industrial output in the Eurozone fell at a pace not seen in over a year, suggesting that worries over the fragile economies in the Eurozone still need to be considered and could be reflected in the central bank’s decision on whether or not to add more stimulus in the coming months.
As reported at 12:09 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the U.S. Dollar Index traded at 80.216 .DXY, moving up from Wednesday’s low of 79.757 .DXY. The USD/JPY was higher at 103.60 Yen, moving toward the year’s high of 103.74 which was established in May. The EUR/USD’s upside momentum which held for six consecutive trading sessions finally ebbed with the pair dipping to $1.3748, moving off the 6-week peak of $1.3811 struck on Wednesday. The EUR/JPY, meanwhile, struck a new 5-week peak at 142.47 Yen.
U.S. Growth Forecasts Revised
With the Christmas holidays just ahead, retail sales in the U.S. jumped to 0.7% in November against expectations of flat sales by a consensus of analysts; even more of a welcome surprise was that October’s data was upwardly revised to 0.6% from 0.4%, all of which bodes well for retailer’s busiest shopping days of the year. That news compelled analysts to revise growth estimates for the fourth quarter, with new estimates edging up to 2.2% annualized, an increase of nearly 0.5%, which is likely to keep alive speculation that the Fed might begin reining in its massive bond purchasing program as soon as next week.