The US consumer is more confident in December. Are faling gasoline prices helping? The score is a beat with 93.8 points. The Current Conditions component is up to 105.7 points and inflation expectations are up to 2.9%. The “Expectations†component rises to 86.1. All the numbers are better than expected and better than November. In addition, the headline figure is the strongest since January 2007.Â
The dollar is stronger: EUR/USD slides below 1.2450, GBP/USD to 1.5720, USD/JPY to 119, USD/CAD above 115.60 and AUD/USD under 0.8250.
The University of Michigan / Reuters consumer confidence measure for December was expected to rise to 89.6 points from 88.8 points in November. This is the preliminary release. The inflation expectations component stood on 2.8% last month.
The US dollar was on the back foot towards the publication: EUR/USD traded around 1.2466, GBP/USD at 1.5734, USD/JPY around 118.70, USD/CAD around 1.1555 and AUD/USD at 0.8255.
Earlier, US producer prices dropped by 0.2% and core PPI remained flat month over month. This was below expectations. However, year over year numbers came in as predicted.
Here is the preview:Â EUR/USD: Trading the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment
In our latest podcast we talk about US jobs, the ECB’s dilemma, a run down of slippery oil and an interesting interview with Itai Furman.
Download it directly here.
