NEW YORK, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) — The U.S. dollar strengthened in late trade Wednesday after data showed U.S. retail sales rose in January.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, rose 0.65 percent to 103.9080 in late trade.
In late New York trading, the euro was down to US$1.0683 from US$1.0738 in the previous session, and the British pound was down to US$1.2023 from US$1.2175 in the previous session.
The US dollar bought 134.15 Japanese yen, higher than 133.05 Japanese yen from the previous session. The US dollar rose to 0.9243 Swiss francs from 0.9214 Swiss francs and it climbed to 1.3399 Canadian dollars from 1.3337 Canadian dollars. The US dollar increased to SEK 10.4396 from SEK 10.3572.
The U.S. Commerce Department reported Wednesday that sales at U.S. retailers rose 3 percent last month, the biggest increase in nearly two years. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast sales to rise 1.8 percent.
The data came a day after a warmer-than-expected US consumer price index (CPI) report in January.
The retail sales report suggested that “consumer spending has regained momentum after losing steam at the end of last year, compounding the Fed’s decision – already bolstered by yesterday’s CPI – to continue tightening,” Will Compernolle, senior economist at FHN Financial, said on Wednesday. note.
Source: sn.dk
