Consumers are less confident: a slip from 97.1 to 94.5 points in the UoM measure. The conditions component also slipped from 111.7 to 109.6. Expectations fell from 87.7 to 84.5 and inflation expectations remain unchanged.
The US dollar is slightly lower, extending the correction that began beforehand. EUR/USD is topping 1.1180. USD/JPY is down to 110.80.
The University of Michigan / Reuters consumer confidence measure was expected to remain unchanged at 97.1 points in June. This is the preliminary release.
The US dollar was ceding a bit of ground after making Fed-related gains since Wednesday evening. In political news, President Trump acknowledged he is under investigation, ranting about it on Twitter as usual.
The special counsel Mueller is digging deeper into the Trump campaign’s ties with Russia and is looking at the First Son in Law Jared Kushner. Vice President Mike Pence has reportedly hired a criminal lawyer.
The most recent drop in the dollar is both profit-taking and a reaction to somewhat weaker data. Building permits have dropped from 1.23 million to 1.17 million annualized, while a rise to 1.25 was expected. Housing starts are also down: to 1.09 million from 1.16, also defying expectations for a rise.
The big boost for the dollar came from the hawkish hike from the Federal Reserve. Yellen and co. shrugged off low inflation on one-off factors and expressed confidence, enough to raise rates one more time later this year.
We still have one more event this week: FOMC member Kaplan will be speaking at 16:45 GMT.
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