What you need to know on Wednesday, August 18:
The dollar rallied on the back of risk-aversion, exacerbated by dismal US data. Retail Sales in the country fell by 1.1% in July, much worse than anticipated. Stocks plunged, although government bond yields posted modest intraday slides.
Commodity-linked currencies were the worst performers, with AUD/USD down to a fresh 2021 low of 07242. The USD/CAD pair peaked at 1.2648, its highest in almost a month.
Upbeat UK employment data fell short of backing GBP/USD that trades near a daily low of 1.3725. The EUR/USD pair is once again poised to challenge the 1.1700 threshold.
Gold edged lower after advancing to $1,795.52 a troy ounce, ending the day in the red at around 1,782. Crude oil prices also lost ground with WTI currently trading at around $66.40 a barrel.
During the upcoming Asian session, Australia will release the Q2 Wage Price Index, while the Reserve Bank of Australia will announce its monetary policy decision. later into the day, the US Federal Reserve will publish the Minutes of its latest meeting.
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