US dollar doesn't get much of a lift from retail sales

<p>The US dollar firmed after a strong retail sales report but not as much as you would expect.</p><p>USD/JPY rose about 20 pips but hasn't been able to break 148.00. EUR/USD is down 10 pips.</p><p>Those are some modest moves despite the retail sales control group at +0.8% compared to +0.2% expected and a positive revision to the prior (+0.5% vs +0.4% initially reported).</p><p>There was a stronger reaction in the bond market were US 2-year yields rose 5 bps and are now back to where they were last Wednesday.</p><p>S&amp;P 500 futures are down 31 points and that should be helping the dollar on most fronts but it's not offering much of a lift. The laggard today is the Australian dollar but that's mostly to the ongoing dismal equity performance from China.</p>

This article was written by Adam Button at www.forexlive.com.