The dollar is losing ground against the Euro and the Japanese Yen Friday afternoon, but is up against the British pound. Investors were inundated with U.S. economic data this morning, after a trading week that had been extremely light on data. Once they were able to sift through the numerous reports, what they discovered was a number of disappointing results.
Retail sales in the U.S. saw a modest decrease in the month of December, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Friday. The report said retail sales edged down by 0.1 percent in December following an upwardly revised 0.4 percent increase in November.
Economists had expected sales to come in unchanged compared to the 0.2 percent uptick originally reported for the previous month.
With utilities output showing another substantial decrease, the Federal Reserve released a report on Friday showing that U.S. industrial production fell by more than expected in the month of December. The report said industrial production dropped by 0.4 percent in December after slumping by a revised 0.9 percent in November.
Economists had expected production to dip by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.6 percent decrease originally reported for the previous month.
Reflecting steep drops in prices for food and energy, the Labor Department released a report on Friday showing that U.S. producer prices fell by slightly more than expected in December. The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand dipped by 0.2 in December after rising by 0.3 percent in November. Economists had expected prices to edge down by 0.1 percent.
Manufacturers in New York State saw a sharp deterioration in business conditions in January, results of a key regional survey showed Friday. Results were well below what economists were predicting and marked the lowest levels in about 7 years. The figures also showed a multi-year low in optimism.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said that its Empire State index came in at negative 19.37 for January. This was down sharply from the reading of negative 6.21 in December. Economists had expected January’s figure to improve slightly to negative 4.
Reflecting more positive expectations for future economic growth, the University of Michigan released a report on Friday showing that U.S. consumer sentiment has improved for the fourth straight month in January.
The preliminary report said the consumer sentiment index climbed to 93.3 in January from the final December reading of 92.6. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 93.0.
Business inventories in the U.S. unexpectedly saw a modest decrease in the month of November, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Friday. The report said business inventories dipped by 0.2 percent in November after edging down by a revised 0.1 percent in October.
Economists had expected inventories to come in unchanged, matching the reading originally reported for the previous month.
The dollar dropped to over a 2-week low of $1.0984 against the Euro Friday, but has bounced back to around $1.0935 this afternoon.
The euro area trade surplus hit a nine-month high in November as exports increased amid fall in imports, Eurostat reported Friday. The trade surplus rose to a seasonally adjusted EUR 22.7 billion from EUR 19.8 billion in October. This was the highest since February, when it totaled EUR 23.1 billion. Also, it stayed above the expected level of EUR 21 billion.
Demand and availability for unsecured lending increased notably in the fourth quarter, the latest Credit Conditions Survey from the Bank of England showed Friday.
Banks reported a significant increase in demand for unsecured lending in the fourth quarter. It was expected to increase again in the first quarter.
Demand for buy-to-let lending increased significantly in the fourth quarter, the bank said.
Meanwhile, demand for credit card lending fell notably at the end of the year, but lenders expected this to reverse in the first quarter.
Further, lenders said the availability of unsecured credit to households especially personal loans increased in the fourth quarter.
The buck has climbed to over a 5-year high of $1.4261 against the pound sterling this afternoon, from around $1.4430 this morning.
U.K. construction output dropped unexpectedly in November, figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed Friday. Construction output fell 0.5 percent month-on-month in November, reversing a 0.2 percent rise in October. Economists had forecast a 0.5 percent rise for November.
The greenback has dropped to a 5-month low of Y116.501 against the Japanese Yen Friday, from around Y117.800 this morning. The Yen is benefitting from its safe haven status on an extremely weak day for global equity markets.
Oh my goodness! Amazing article dude! Many thanks, However I am experiencing difficulties with your RSS. I don’t understand why I cannot join it. Is there anybody else getting the same RSS problems? Anybody who knows the answer will you kindly respond? Thanks!!
When you have an excellent brand name identification, new
customers will call you because they remember your logo, have held
on to your calling card, or are impressed by your pamphlet.
From U.S. college kids battling bugs in milk jugs, to South American farmers battling stag beetles on pieces of wood – bug fighting (insect competition) is a widespread global phenomenon.
Informing homeowners in the location about their septic systems assists 3 Lakes Association continue to be fully commited to our mission: to provide leadership to preserve, safeguard, and also boost
the environmental high quality of the Elk Stream Chain of Lakes
Watershed for all generations.
This paragraph is in fact a nice one it assists new web users, who are wishing in favor of blogging.
Pingback: home to work
Ahead up with innovative marketing suggestions as well as an efficient way to
brand name your services or products, you need to thoroughly set out
the actions you have to arrive.
The author is an announced author of pre-requisites of Ecommerce as well as he consistently creates short articles on supplying Ecommerce Remedy to the companies for appreciating a better position in the competitive market for a longer amount of time.
It’s an amazing piece of writing in favor of all the internet users; they will obtain advantage from it I am sure.
Howdy fantastic blog! Does running a blog such as this take a great deal of work? I’ve very little understanding of programming but I had been hoping to start my own blog in the near future. Anyway, if you have any suggestions or tips for new blog owners please share. I understand this is off topic but I simply needed to ask. Thank you!