U.S Economic Data and FED Chair Powell Put the Dollar in the Spotlight

Earlier in the Day:

It was a relatively busy start to the day on the economic calendar this morning. The Japanese Yen and the Aussie Dollar were in action this morning.

For the Japanese Yen

Inflation figures drew attention early this morning.

In August, Tokyo consumer prices remained unchanged, year-on-year, after having been down 0.5% in July. Economists forecast for prices to fall by 0.2%.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication,

• Prices for transportation & communication were down 9%.
• There were also declines in prices for fuel, light, & water charges (-0.8%) and medical care (-0.2%).
• Prices for culture & recreation and prices for furniture & household utensils rose by 4.7% and by 4.4% respectively.
• There were also price increases for education (+2.1%), clothes & footwear (+0.9%), and housing (+0.5%).
• Under miscellaneous, prices rose by 1.2% year-on-year.

The Japanese Yen moved from ¥ 110.050 to ¥110.057 upon release of the figures. At the time of writing, the Japanese Yen was up by 0.10% to ¥109.980 against the U.S Dollar.

For the Aussie Dollar

Retail sales were in focus this morning.

In July, retail sales fell by 2.7%, according to prelim figures, which was worse than a forecasted 1.8% decline. Retail sales had fallen by 1.8% in June.

According to the ABS,

• Food retailing rose by 2.3%, while household goods retailing fell by 2.2% in the month.
• Clothing, footwear, and personal accessory retailing tumbled by 15.4%, however, with department store sales down 11.4%.
• Cafes, restaurants, and takeaway food services retailing slid by 12.3%.
• Other retailing rose by a modest 0.6%.

The Aussie Dollar moved from $0.72314 to $0.72328 upon release of the figures. At the time of writing, the Aussie Dollar was up by 0.07% to $0.7242.

Elsewhere

At the time of writing, the Kiwi Dollar was down by 0.04% to $0.6945.

The Day Ahead

For the EUR

It’s a particularly quiet day ahead on the economic data front. There are no material stats due out of the Eurozone to provide the EUR with direction.

The lack of stats will leave the EUR in the hands of chatter from the Jackson Hole Symposium.

At the time of writing, the EUR was up by 0.03% to $1.1756.

For the Pound

It’s yet another particularly quiet day ahead on the economic calendar. There are no material stats due out of the UK to provide the Pound with direction.

The lack of stats will leave the Pound in the hands of market risk sentiment on the day.

At the time of writing, the Pound was down by 0.04% to $1.3695.

Across the Pond

It’s a busy day ahead. July inflation and personal spending figures will be the key stats of the day.

While the numbers will influence, it will ultimately boil down to FED Chair Powell’s scheduled speech later today. There’s been plenty of uncertainty over whether the FED will begin tapering as early as next month…

At the time of writing, the U.S Dollar Spot Index was up by 0.01% to 93.074.

For the Loonie

It’s a relatively quiet day on the economic calendar. RMPI numbers for July will draw interest later today.

While the numbers will influence, market risk sentiment driven by the Jackson Hole Symposium will be the key driver.

At the time of writing, the Loonie was up by 0.03% to C$1.2683 against the U.S Dollar.

For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar.