US: Retail Sales stay unchanged in July vs +0.1% expected

Retail Sales in the US stayed unchanged on a monthly basis in July.
US Dollar Index continues to push higher toward 107.00.

Eren Sengezer FXStreet

Retail Sales in the US stayed virtually unchanged at $682.8 billion in July, the data published by the US Census Bureau showed on Wednesday. This reading followed June's increase of 0.8% and came in slightly weaker than the market expectation of +0.1%.

"Total sales for the May 2022 through July 2022 period were up 9.2% from the same period a year ago," the publication further read. "The May 2022 to June 2022 percent change was revised from up 1.0% to up 0.8%."

Market reaction

The greenback continues to outperform its rivals after this data with the US Dollar Index rising nearly 0.4% on the day at 106.87.

Author

Eren Sengezer

FXStreet

As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.

AUD/USD sticks to neutral bias above 0.7100 amid cautious markets

AUD/USD holds steady above 0.7100 in the Asian session on Monday as the US Dollar stalls its modest pullback from the highest level since late July amid persistent geopolitical uncertainties. The PBOC status quo on Loan Prime Rates also weighs on the Aussie. However, bets on another RBA rate hike continue to underpin the Australian Dollar ahead of the Trump-Xi Summit.

USD/JPY eases below 157.00 amid looming intervention risks

USD/JPY is easing back below 157.00 in Asia on Monday, undermined by modest Japanese Yen strength amid looming intervention risks after Friday's BoJ rate check. A Japanese holiday also keeps traders on edge amid escalating geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine and in the Middle East. As a result, the US Dollar pauses its pullback, limiting the pair's downside.

Gold remains depressed around $4,350 amid rate jitters, modest USD strength

Gold maintains its offered tone through the first half of the European session, and currently trades around $4,350, down over 0.50% for the day. The commodity, however, holds comfortably above a six-week low, touched last Wednesday as traders await further developments around the Middle East crisis and their implications for inflation. This, in turn, would influence interest rate expectations and, in turn, drive the non-yielding bullion.

Bitcoin hits $85,000 for the first time in eight months

Bitcoin price reclaims $85,000 on Monday, advancing last week’s 5% recovery toward an eight-month high. The recovery in King Crypto aligns with renewed institutional demand, with Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) recording $433 million in inflows on Friday.

The week ahead: Fuel prices in focus as we lead up to key eco releases

Financial markets are in a strange position as we move to the final weeks of Q3, uncertainty and volatility continue to grip markets, but the oil price is falling; and European and US stocks are poised to open higher later on Monday. Market stresses are concentrated in sovereign bonds, and European and US yields had another scare late on Friday, and moved higher.

BoJ Recap: Not as hawkish as expected

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) raised its short-term interest-rate target to 1.25% from 1.00% in a 7-2 vote, marking another step in the normalisation of monetary policy and widely matching what everyone has been expecting for weeks.