The dollar is virtually unchanged in comparison to its major rivals Friday afternoon. After logging early gains, the buck has since retreated back to around where it began the session. Trading activity has been thin ahead of the long holiday weekend.
Despite the relatively subdued trading atmosphere, there was a fair amount of news Friday. U.S. lawmakers reached a last minute deal to avoid a government shutdown and there was another deluge of U.S. economic data this morning.
New orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods showed a notable increase in the month of November, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Friday.
The Commerce Department said durable goods orders surged up by 1.3 percent in November after falling by a revised 0.4 percent in October.
The increase in orders came in below economist estimates for a 2.0 percent jump, although the revised drop in the previous month was much smaller than the 0.8 percent decrease that had been reported.
A report released by the Commerce Department on Friday showed a smaller than expected increase in U.S. personal income in the month of November, while personal spending climbed by more than expected.
The Commerce Department said personal income rose by 0.3 percent in November after climbing by 0.4 percent in October. Economists had expected another 0.4 percent increase.
Meanwhile, the report said personal spending climbed by 0.6 percent in November after edging up by 0.2 percent in October. Spending had been expected to rise by 0.5 percent.
New home sales in the U.S. unexpectedly showed a substantial increase in the month of November, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Friday. The Commerce Department said new home sales surged up by 17.5 percent to an annual rate of 733,000 in November from the revised October rate of 624,000.
Economists had expected new home sales to drop to 654,000 from the 685,000 originally reported for the previous month.
Consumer sentiment in the U.S. deteriorated by more than initially estimated in the month of December, according to a report released by the University of Michigan on Friday. The report said the consumer sentiment index for December was downwardly revised to 95.9 from the preliminary estimate of 96.8. Economists had expected the index to be upwardly revised to 97.1.
The dollar rose to a high of $1.1816 against the Euro Friday, but has since eased back to around $1.1850.
German consumer confidence is set to improve slightly in January, survey data from the market-research group GfK showed Friday. The forward-looking consumer sentiment index rose to 10.8 for January from 10.7 in December. The score was forecast to remain unchanged at 10.7.
Germany’s import price inflation increased in November, figures from Destatis showed Friday. Producer price inflation rose marginally to 2.7 percent in November from 2.6 percent in October. The annual increase was largely driven by the 17.3 percent surge in energy prices.
France’s economy grew more than previously estimated in the third quarter, detailed figures from the statistical office Insee showed Friday. Gross domestic product grew 0.6 percent sequentially, instead of 0.5 estimated previously. The economy had expanded by 0.6 percent each in the previous two quarters.
French producer prices in the domestic market increased at a faster pace in November, the statistical office Insee reported Friday. Producer prices climbed 1.4 percent month-over-month in November, well above the 0.2 percent slight increase in October.
The buck climbed to a high of $1.3361 against the pound sterling Friday, but has since retreated to around $1.3375.
The UK economy grew at a slightly faster pace as initially estimated in the third quarter, but higher inflation and real pay squeeze weighed on consumer spending. Gross domestic product expanded 0.4 percent sequentially in the third quarter, faster than the 0.3 percent growth seen in the first two quarters of 2017, the Office for National Statistics reported Friday.
The greenback reached an early high of Y113.448 against the Japanese Yen Friday, but has since pulled back to around Y113.300.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com
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