US retail sales rose by 0.1% in April 2012. Predictions were for a rise of 0.2%. Core retail sales rose by 0.1%. Here, expectations were for a rise of 0.3%.
On the other hand, the forward looking Empire State Manufacturing Index surprises with a jump to 17.1 points, almost double the expectations.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) remained flat in April. It was expected to rise by 0.1% in after rising by 0.3% in March. Core CPI rose by 0.2% as predicted and like the previous month.
EUR/USD ticks down to 1.2830 following these publications, but doesn’t go too far. USD/JPY rises above 80. A marginally dollar positive reaction.
The last time that the volume of retail sales dropped was May 2011. In December 2011, the volume remained unchanged.
The annual level of inflation and core inflation, stands at 2.3%. This is enough to prevent a third round of quantitative easing.
Another figure, the Empire State Manufacturing Index for May, was expected to rise to 9.3 points from last month’s disappointing 6.6 points. This is a more forward looking indicator, although it isn’t as important as the Philly Fed Index released later this week.
EUR/USD traded steadily around 1.2840 before the releases. USD/JPY was just under 80.
The TIC Long-Term Purchases will be released at 13:00 GMT and is estimated to result in a rise from 10.1 to 19.4 billion.
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