Attention Turns to U.S. Economic Trends Following the Release of U.S. Retail Sales Data
17.08.2021
- U.S. Retail Sales
- Remarks by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Powell
Yesterday, U.S. stock prices rose slightly, resulting in a market environment characterized by higher stock prices, flat interest rates, and flat crude oil prices. The fear index (VIX) rose by about 4% to 16.1. The Russell 2000 continued to decline and is currently around 2,203 points.
In the foreign exchange market, commodity-linked currencies such as the Australian and Canadian dollars are seeing notable declines. The AUD/JPY pair, amid concerns over a third wave of the novel coronavirus, fell to 79.7.Additionally, since Canada’s June wholesale sales, released yesterday, came in at -0.8% against a forecast of 0.5%, the USD/CAD pair rose from 1.251 to 1.259. As the pair is rebounding along the 200-period moving average on the 4-hour chart, traders should exercise caution when chasing higher prices, just to be safe.
Today, at 15:00 Asia time, the UK unemployment rate and jobless claims will be released; at 20:30 Europe time, Turkey’s housing starts will be released; at 21:30 U.S. time, U.S. retail sales will be released;at 22:15, U.S. industrial production and capacity utilization; at 23:00, U.S. business inventories and the NAHB Housing Market Index; at 26:30, remarks by Fed Chair Powell; and at 28:45, remarks by Kashkari, President of the Minneapolis Fed.We will monitor price movements closely while paying close attention to various economic indicators and news reports.
