The U.S. Dollar and the Index which tracks its performance both continue to be under pressure, this time the combined results of unexpectedly poor retail sales data and a rise in unemployment claims. Some analysts are attributing the disappointing retail data to January’s winter storms which kept a large portion of America covered in snow while others maintain that it was a result of weak fundamentals. The news took FX investors by surprise, yet was all but dismissed by equities investors who sent Wall Street on the path to recovery.
As reported at 10:49 a.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the U.S. Dollar Index had dipped to 80.194 .DXY, close to a 3-week low, before creeping higher to 80.282 .DXY. The USD/JPY moved away from Thursday’s trough at 101.695 Yen to hold at 102.08 Yen while the EUR/USD hit a 3-week high at $1.3675.
Eurozone GDP in Focus
Markets will turn their focus to the Eurozone later today, with GDP figures due to be released at 10:00 a.m. (GMT) which could provide some short term direction for the European Central Bank. According to a recent poll, a consensus of analysts is predicting that preliminary GDP data for the fourth quarter will hit 0.4%, up from the -0.3%. Yesterday’s news of the resignation of the Italian Prime Minister, which would in the past have strongly affected the common currency, was this time essentially shrugged off by FX investors.