EUR/USD in highs after US data

FXStreet (Edinburgh) - The shared currency is pushing higher following the US data releases, with EUR/USD hitting session tops around 1.1370/80.

EUR/USD firmer on weak US sales

The bid tone is now intensifying around the euro, following disappointing results from the US retail sector. In fact, headline retail sales in the US economy contracted further than expected 0.8% on a monthly basis during January; Core sales – excluding the Automobile sector – followed suit, down 0.9% vs. -0.4% forecasted. In the same direction, weekly Claims ticked lower to 304K vs. 285K previously estimated.

EUR/USD key levels

As of writing the pair is up 0.62% at 1.1363 with the next hurdle at 1.1400 (psychological level) ahead of 1.1438 (21-d MA) and finally the psychological level at 1.1500. On the downside, the initial support aligns at 1.1270 (low Feb.9) ahead of 1.1262 (low Jan.29) and finally 1.1224 (low Jan.27).

Feb 12, 2015

US retail sales increase 3.3 percent YoY

The US Census Bureau announced today that advance estimates of US retail and food services sales for January, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $439.8 billion, a decrease of 0.8 percent (±0.5 percent) from the previous month, but up 3.3 percent (±0.9 percent) above January 2014. Total sales for the November 2014 through January 2015 period were up 3.8 percent (±0.7 percent) from the same period a year ago.

USD/JPY falls back to 119.50 on weak US data

The Japanese Yen strengthened against its US counterpart, pushing the USD/JPY pair back below 119.50 levels after the data in the US showed retail sales in January declined more than expected, while the weekly initial jobless claims rose above 300K in the last week.