Investing.com – USD/JPY rose slightly on Wednesday morning after U.S. retail sales numbers for December beat consensus forecasts and kept expectations going for the Federal Reserve to wind down monthly bond purchases throughout the year.
USD/JPY traded up 0.04% at 104.26, AUD/USD traded down 0.09% at 0.8957, and NZD/USD traded down 0.18% to 83.66.
The Commerce Department reported that U.S. retail sales rose 0.2% in December, beating expectations for a 0.1% increase.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, expanded by 0.7% in December, well above forecasts for a 0.4% increase.
The news sparked demand for the dollar by cementing expectations for the Federal Reserve to continue scaling back its USD75 billion bond-buying program this year.
Fed asset purchases soften the greenback by depressing long-term interest rates to encourage investing and hiring, thus making stocks more attractive while such programs remain in place.
Risk-on demand for stocks trimmed some of the greenback's gains.
Meanwhile in Europe, the euro saw demand after European Central Bank Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny said the euro zone economy might surprise to the upside this year.
Elsewhere, data released earlier revealed that industrial production in the euro zone beat expectations in November.
Eurostat said industrial production rose 1.8% in November, beating expectations for a 1.4% gain, recovering from a downwardly revised decline of 0.8% in October. On a year-over-year basis, industrial production rose 3%, more than double expectations for a 1.4% increase.
The U.K. Office for National Statistics reported earlier that its consumer price index rose 2.0% on year last month, off from November's 2.1% reading in November and just shy of consensus forecasts calling for an unchanged reading.
Still, it was the first time since 2009 that the U.K. inflation rate came in line with the Bank of England’s official 2% target, which strengthened the pound though the pair remained range bound.
Consumer prices rose 0.4% month-on-month, below expectations for a 0.5% rise.
The U.K. house prices index climbed 5.4% in November, the ONS added, below expectations for a 5.9% gain.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.01% at 80.73.
Later in the day, the U.S. is to release data on producer price inflation and a report on manufacturing activity in the New York region.
USD/JPY traded up 0.04% at 104.26, AUD/USD traded down 0.09% at 0.8957, and NZD/USD traded down 0.18% to 83.66.
The Commerce Department reported that U.S. retail sales rose 0.2% in December, beating expectations for a 0.1% increase.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, expanded by 0.7% in December, well above forecasts for a 0.4% increase.
The news sparked demand for the dollar by cementing expectations for the Federal Reserve to continue scaling back its USD75 billion bond-buying program this year.
Fed asset purchases soften the greenback by depressing long-term interest rates to encourage investing and hiring, thus making stocks more attractive while such programs remain in place.
Risk-on demand for stocks trimmed some of the greenback's gains.
Meanwhile in Europe, the euro saw demand after European Central Bank Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny said the euro zone economy might surprise to the upside this year.
Elsewhere, data released earlier revealed that industrial production in the euro zone beat expectations in November.
Eurostat said industrial production rose 1.8% in November, beating expectations for a 1.4% gain, recovering from a downwardly revised decline of 0.8% in October. On a year-over-year basis, industrial production rose 3%, more than double expectations for a 1.4% increase.
The U.K. Office for National Statistics reported earlier that its consumer price index rose 2.0% on year last month, off from November's 2.1% reading in November and just shy of consensus forecasts calling for an unchanged reading.
Still, it was the first time since 2009 that the U.K. inflation rate came in line with the Bank of England’s official 2% target, which strengthened the pound though the pair remained range bound.
Consumer prices rose 0.4% month-on-month, below expectations for a 0.5% rise.
The U.K. house prices index climbed 5.4% in November, the ONS added, below expectations for a 5.9% gain.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.01% at 80.73.
Later in the day, the U.S. is to release data on producer price inflation and a report on manufacturing activity in the New York region.