North American Summary and Highlights 14 Mar

North American session

The USD gained ground through the North American session following stronger than expected PPI data and lower than expected jobless claims, despite weaker than expected retail sales. EUR/USD lost around half a figure to trade below 1.09, and USD/JPY gained around half a figure to 148.30.  

February retail sales with a 0.6% increase have not fully reversed a 1.1% decline seen in January and hint at some loss of consumer momentum in Q1. However initial claims at 209k from a downwardly revised 210k suggest the labor market remains strong in early March while February PPI with a 0.6% increase, 0.3% ex food and energy, backs the CPI’s message of stronger inflationary pressures in early 2024.

European morning session

The USD was slightly softer through the European morning session, losing ground to most currencies except the EUR, CHF and SEK, which were all essentially steady against the USD. The JPY, AUD, CAD and GBP all made modest gains, of 0.1-0.2%. 

There was little news of note, with Swedish February CPI the only data of interest. This was weaker than expected, coming in at 4.5% headline, 2.5% core, and the SEK fell back marginally in response, but was essentially back to opening levels against the EUR by the end of the morning.