The US consumer seems to be back on track: retail sales advanced 0.6%, slightly better than expected and on top of an upwards revision of June: flat instead of a fall originally reported. Core sales are up 0.4% as expected and here the upwards revision is more significant: from -0.1% to +0.4%. Excluding gas and autos we have a rise of 0.4%, with an upwards revision worth +0.4% as well. All in all this is good news. .
USD is higher with EUR/USD dipping under 1.11, GBP/USD slipping to 1.5613, USD/JPY settling above 124.50, USD/CAD topping 1.3040, AUD/USD around 0.7337 and NZD/USD clinging to 0.6560.
Read the rest of the article US retail sales +0.6% – better than expected – USD rises