U.S. Retail Sales decreased unexpectedly in March according to a report by the U.S. Commerce Department released today. Advance estimates of March retail sales showed that sales decreased by 1.1 percent to $344.4 billion from February. On an annual basis, retail sales have decreased by 9.4 percent from the March 2008 level. Market forecasts were 
expecting an increase of 0.3 percent for March following February’s revised increase of 0.3 percent.
March’s retail sales numbers were weighted down by a 5.9 percent decline in electronics & appliance store sales, a 2.2 percent decline in miscellaneous stores retailers and a 2.3 percent fall in motor vehicle & parts dealers. Other notable declines for the month were building material & supplies dealers, furniture & home furnishings stores, clothing & clothing accessories stores and nonstore retailers. Positive contributors to the retail sales data were food & beverage stores with a 0.5 percent increase and health & personal care stores with a 0.4 percent increase.
Retail sales excluding automobiles decreased by 0.9 percent in March following February’s revised 1.0 percent gain. The sales minus autos monthly decline also surpassed market forecasts that were expecting sales minus automobiles to register no change for the month.
Producer Prices fall after two months of increases.
The Producer Price Index, released in a separate report by the Department of Labor, fell more than expected in March as energy costs dropped and eased inflation on finished goods. Producer prices fell by 1.2 percent in the month of March following an increase of 0.1 percent in February and an increase of 0.8 percent in January. The annual rate of change for March showed that producer prices were 3.5 percent lower than the March of 2008 level following February’s annual rate registered a 1.3 percent decrease. Market forecasts were expecting monthly producer prices to show no change in March and the annual rate to register a 2.2 percent decline.
Helping to contribute to the lower ppi in March was the energy index which decreased by 5.5 percent for the month after increasing by 1.3 percent in February. Gasoline prices dropped by 13.1 percent in March after gaining by 8.7 percent in February while food prices declined by 0.7 percent for the month.
Core producer prices, excluding food and energy prices, showed no change in March following a rise of 0.2 percent in February. On an annual basis, core producer prices advanced by 3.8 percent for March compared with an increase of 4.0 percent in February. Market forecasts were expecting a 0.1 percent gain in monthly core prices and a 4.0 percent annual increase.
Forex Market – US Dollar shows mixed results today.
The U.S. dollar has been mixed in forex trading today against the major currencies. The dollar has gained against the euro, Australian dollar, Swiss franc and New Zealand dollar while declining versus the Canadian dollar, British pound and the Japanese yen.
The euro has been falling versus the dollar after gaining mightily yesterday. The EUR/USD has declined from today’s 1.3328 opening at 00:00GMT to trading at approximately 1.3273 in the afternoon of the US trading session at 1:08pm ET according to currency data from Oanda.
The British pound has gained today versus the American currency as the GBP/USD has gone from 1.4851 to trading at 1.4888 dollars per pound. The dollar has also declined against the Japanese yen today as the USD/JPY has fallen from its 99.84 opening to trading at 98.83.
The dollar has fallen against the Canadian dollar after the USD/CAD’s opening at 1.2217 earlier today to trading later at 1.2130. Meanwhile, the USD has advanced against the Swiss franc from 1.1355 to trading at 1.1386. The Australian dollar has lost ground versus the USD as the AUD/USD trades at 0.7250 after opening today at 0.7282 while the New Zealand dollar has declined versus the USD and trades at 0.5838 after opening at 0.5899.
USD/JPY Chart – The US Dollar declining versus the Japanese Yen in forex trading action and falling sharply under the 100 yen to the dollar level today(Hourly Chart).
