Investing.com – The U.S. dollar extended modest gains against the Swiss franc on Thursday, rising to a three-week high after a flurry of broadly softer-than-expected U.S. economic data.
USD/CHF hit 0.8904 during European afternoon trade, the pair’s highest since April 20; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8884, easing up 0.06%.
The pair was likely to find short-term support at 0.8782, Wednesday’s low and resistance at 0.9010, the high of April 20.
Earlier in the day, official data showed that U.S. retail sales posted their smallest gain in nine months in April, as higher food and fuel costs diverted spending from other areas.
The Commerce Department said retail sales rose in line with expectations, climbing 0.5% last month, after rising by an upwardly revised 0.9% the previous month. Sales excluding automobiles rose 0.6% in April, building on a 1.2% gain in March and in line with analysts’ expectations.
In a separate report, the Department of Labor said U.S. claims for unemployment benefits fell sharply last week after a surprisingly big rise the previous week.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 44,000 to a seasonally adjusted 434,000 in the week ended May 7. Analysts had expected the claims to drop to 430,000 last week.
The dollar was also higher against the euro, with EUR/USD slipping 0.15% to hit 1.4169.
Also Thursday, government data showed that U.S. producer price inflation rose more-than-expected in April.
PPI rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.8%, after rising by 0.7% in March. Analysts had expected PPI to increase by 0.6% last month. Core PPI, which excludes food and energy costs, rose slightly more-than-expected in April, increasing by 0.3%.
USD/CHF hit 0.8904 during European afternoon trade, the pair’s highest since April 20; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8884, easing up 0.06%.
The pair was likely to find short-term support at 0.8782, Wednesday’s low and resistance at 0.9010, the high of April 20.
Earlier in the day, official data showed that U.S. retail sales posted their smallest gain in nine months in April, as higher food and fuel costs diverted spending from other areas.
The Commerce Department said retail sales rose in line with expectations, climbing 0.5% last month, after rising by an upwardly revised 0.9% the previous month. Sales excluding automobiles rose 0.6% in April, building on a 1.2% gain in March and in line with analysts’ expectations.
In a separate report, the Department of Labor said U.S. claims for unemployment benefits fell sharply last week after a surprisingly big rise the previous week.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 44,000 to a seasonally adjusted 434,000 in the week ended May 7. Analysts had expected the claims to drop to 430,000 last week.
The dollar was also higher against the euro, with EUR/USD slipping 0.15% to hit 1.4169.
Also Thursday, government data showed that U.S. producer price inflation rose more-than-expected in April.
PPI rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.8%, after rising by 0.7% in March. Analysts had expected PPI to increase by 0.6% last month. Core PPI, which excludes food and energy costs, rose slightly more-than-expected in April, increasing by 0.3%.