Consumer prices in the U.S. decreased in March after advancing the previous two months according to a report released today by the U.S. Department of Labor. The Consumer Price Index fell by 0.1 percent in March after gaining by
On an annual basis, consumer prices declined by 0.4 percent from March 2008 following a 0.2 percent annual increase in February. March’s price decline surpassed economic forecasts that were expecting a 0.1 percent increase and a 0.1 percent fall in the annual rate.
Core consumer prices, excluding food and energy prices, increased by 0.2 percent in March following a 0.2 percent advancement in February. The annual change in core prices showed a 1.8 percent increase over March 2008 following February’s 1.8 percent annual increase. Market forecasts were predicting core inflation to register a monthly increase of 0.1 percent and an annual increase of 1.7 percent.
Contributing to the lower consumer prices was a decrease in the price for energy as the energy index fell by 3.0 percent in March while the gasoline index also showed a 4.0 percent decline. The food index fell by 0.1 percent in March while the indexes for housing and apparel also declined for the month.
US Dollar mixed in Forex Trading today.
The US Dollar has been mixed in forex trading versus the other major currencies today. The American currency has traded higher versus the euro, Swiss franc and Japanese yen while falling against the British pound, Australian dollar, New Zealand dollar and Canadian dollar.
The US dollar is on track to gain for the second day versus the Swiss franc as the USD/CHF trades at the exchange rate of 1.1438 at 5:43pm EST according to currency data from Oanda. The USD/CHF opened the day trading at 1.1388 and reached an intraday high of 1.1488 before retreating lower.
The euro has fallen versus the dollar after the EUR/USD opened at 1.3244 today to trading at 1.3211 after reaching an intraday high of 1.3297. The British pound has increased versus the dollar as the GBP/USD advanced from its 1.4874 opening to trade at 1.4982 later today.
The Australian dollar has moved higher versus the dollar today as the AUD/USD trades at 0.7269 after opening the day at 0.7167. The New Zealand dollar also increased versus the dollar and the NZD/USD trades at 0.5798 after opening at 0.5775.
The dollar has advanced against the Japanese yen as the USD/JPY trades at 99.37 after opening the day at 98.40 and the dollar has also declined versus the Canadian dollar as the USD/CAD trades at 1.2048 after opening at the 1.2172 exchange rate.
GBP/USD Chart – The British Pound advancing today versus the US Dollar and hovering around the 1.5000 psychological level.
