The US dollar traded higher against major opponents after the release of some economic reports in New York mid-morning deals on Friday. The greenback climbed to a 2-day high versus the Swiss franc.
U.S. retail sales unexpectedly fell in May, with the decline primarily due to a sharp pullback in sales at building materials and garden equipment stores and lower gasoline sales.
Retail sales fell 1.2% month-over-month in May following an upwardly revised 0.6% increase in April, according to data released by the Commerce Department on Friday. The decline came as a surprise to economists, who had been looking for a 0.2% increase in retail sales for the month.
According to a report released by the U.S. Commerce Department today, the business inventories increased by 0.4 percent in April following an upwardly revised 0.7 percent increase in March. Economists had expected inventories to increase by 0.5 percent compared to the 0.4 percent growth originally reported for the previous month.
Additionally, the Commerce Department said that business sales rose by 0.6 percent in April after surging up by 2.5 percent in March.
Extending European session upward trading, the dollar ticked up further against the Swiss franc in New York mid-day deals today. At 11:20 am ET, the greenback climbed to a 2-day high of 1.1548 versus the franc, compared to yesterday’s close of 1.1422. As of now, the pair is worth 1.1515.
The greenback, which touched a 1-week low of 1.2153 by about 8:00 am ET versus the euro, edged up in today’s mid-day session. As of 11:15 am ET, the greenback advanced to 1.2047 against the euro from Thursday’s New York session close of 1.2125. Currently, the pair is trading at 1.2066.
Against its British counterpart, the dollar traded higher from early European session’s 9-day low of 1.4761, today. The pair that closed yesterday’s New York session at 1.4716, is now worth 1.4514.
The US currency also surged up against the Canadian dollar and hit a high of 1.0392 by about 11:15 am ET. Present, the greenback-loonie pair is trading at 1.0348 from Thursday’s closing value of 1.0300.
