U.S. Retail Sales decreased for the second consecutive month in April according to a report by the U.S. Commerce Department released today. Advance estimates of April retail sales showed that sales decreased by 0.4 percent to $337.7 billion following a revised 1.3 percent
April’s retail sales numbers were weighted down by a 2.8 percent decrease in electronics & appliance store sales, a 2.3 percent decline in gasoline station sales and a 1.0 percent fall in food & beverage stores. Also showing declines for the month were furniture & home furnishings stores, general merchandise stores, clothing & clothing accessories stores and nonstore retailers. On an annual basis, auto and parts dealer sales have dropped by 20.7 percent while gasoline station sales have plummeted by 36.4 percent.
Positive contributors to the retail sales data in April were sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores with a 0.3 percent increase, health & personal care stores with a 0.4 percent increase and food services & drinking places with a 0.2 percent increase. On an annual basis, health & personal care stores have risen the most with a 4.0 percent increase while food services & drinking place sales have also shown a rise by 1.4 percent.
Forex Market – US Dollar trading higher today.
The U.S. dollar has been trading higher in forex trading today against the major currencies after falling across the board yesterday. The dollar has gained against the euro, British pound, Australian dollar, Canadian dollar, Swiss franc and New Zealand dollar while declining versus the Japanese yen.
The euro has been falling versus the dollar after gaining yesterday. The EUR/USD has declined from today’s 1.3690 opening at 00:00GMT to trading at approximately 1.3577 in the afternoon of the US trading session at 1:27pm ET according to currency data from Oanda.
The British pound has dropped today versus the American currency as the GBP/USD has gone from 1.5310 to trading at 1.5139 dollars per pound. The dollar is declining against the Japanese yen for a third straight day as the USD/JPY has fallen from its 96.17 opening to trading at 95.83.
The dollar has risen against the Canadian dollar after the USD/CAD’s opening at 1.1576 earlier today to trading later at 1.1738.
Meanwhile, the USD has advanced against the Swiss franc from 1.1016 to trading at 1.1086. The Australian dollar has declined versus the USD as the AUD/USD trades at 0.7525 after opening today at 0.7680 while the New Zealand dollar has declined versus the USD and trades at 0.5903 after opening at 0.6062.
AUD/USD Chart – The Australian Dollar falling sharply today versus the US Dollar in forex trading action and approaching the 0.7500 level(Hourly Chart).
