US Retail Sales came out as expected, on both the headline and the all-important control group. Good news came from the upside revisions which were worth 0.1% or 0.2% to the March figures. The US Dollar was already rising thanks to a breakout in US yields, that topped 3.06%. The small upward revisions were enough to send the greenback much higher. For EUR/USD and GBP/USD, it meant challenging the 2018 highs. For USD/JPY, it resulted in a big break above 110. It was more about the yields than the numbers.
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The US was expected to report a rise of 0.4% in the Retail Sales control group in April, identical to the rise in March. Headline sales carried expectations for 0.3% after 0.6% and core sales by 0.5% after 0.2%. The data is critical for the US Dollar. Previous disappointments sent it down and stopped the rally. Just before the event, the greenback gained further ground as US bond yields shot higher. The data point is critical for the US economy which is all about consumption.
