New home sales rose to 476K. They were expected to continue advancing from the strong 466K (revised from 454K originally reported) Â last month to 462K this time. The previous data and the new data are both great.
The CB Consumer confidence jumped to 81.4 points, better than expected. It was predicted to slide from 76.2 to 75.2 points. This is the highest number in over 5 years.
EUR/USD slipped below 1.3080. USD/JPY is already at 97.85, extending gains from previous positive US surprises.
Also the Richmond Manufacturing Index came out better than predicted, turning positive: from -2 to +8 points, better than 0 that was estimated.
Earlier, durable goods orders came out better than expected, rising by 3.6%. House prices are also on the rise according to Case Shiller.
So far, the data has been positive, but the gains for the US dollar have been limited. This isn’t a one way street. One of the reasons for the slowing down of USD gains is that Fed officials are trying to put the genie back in the bottle regarding tapering. Their success is limited, but it is still felt.
