The US dollar today gained slightly against the euro after the release of better than expected US CPI data in the American session. The empty European docket could not provide enough impetus to the single currency, which offered resistance and recovered after its initial decline.
The EUR/USD currency pair was trading in a 40 point range for most of today’s session as euro refused to cede ground to the US dollar, but the CPI data drove the pair to a weekly low of 1.1837, before the pair rebounded.
The release of the US CPI data for the month of August by the Bureau of Labor Statistics triggered a slight decline in the currency pair. The CPI data came in at an 1.9% on an annualized basis as compared to the expected 1.8% increase. The core CPI figure also came in at 1.7% annually versus the consensus estimate of 1.6%. The release of the unemployment insurance weekly claims data by the Department of Labor also contributed to the pair’s decline as they beat expectations. The initial jobless claims were recorded at 284,000 as compared to the consensus estimate of 300,000.
The release of the real average weekly and hourly earnings also boosted the US dollar as they came in at 0.9% and 0.6% respectively. The US Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback’s performance, also hit a daily high of 92.66 after the releases.
The currency pair’s future performance is likely to be affected by the release of US advance retail sales data and EU trade balance, both scheduled for tomorrow.
The EUR/USD pair was trading at 1.1880 as at 14:40 GMT having rallied from a low of 1.1837 earlier today. The USD/JPY pair was trading at 110.65 having risen from a low of 110.32.
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