US Retail Sales Will Give 'Hint' To USD Direction Tonight

<p>&nbsp;The euro climbed to a fresh 17-month high early in the European session as the US dollar continued to be pushed lower ahead of the release of US retail sales data.</p><p><br /></p><p>Expectations for an interest rate hike of 25 basis points by the European Central Bank (ECB) appear to provide additional support for the euro which has benefited from a weaker USD.</p><p><br /></p><p>US dollar investors are seen as still waiting for additional clues to the Federal Reserve's (Fed) interest rate decision next week.</p><p><br /></p><p>As a result, the market's focus is now on US retail sales data to be published in the New York session, where it is expected to record an increase in June compared to the previous month.</p><p><br /></p><p>This may provide a driving factor for the king of the US dollar currency in the New York session which is currently hovering at the lowest level since April 2022 compared to major currencies.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>In addition, investors also paid attention to the release of Canadian inflation data which is expected to continue to ease in June, seeing the dollar loonie trade slightly lower ahead of the release.</p><p><br /></p><p>Meanwhile, the pound looked firm at a 15-month high against the US dollar with market focus on UK inflation data due in the European session tomorrow.</p><p><br /></p><p>Meanwhile, the Aussie dollar failed to maintain the upward momentum gained from the minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) meeting, seeing it trade slightly lower in the European session.</p><p><br /></p><p>The New Zealand dollar slipped further from its five-month high as the market now awaits the release of New Zealand inflation data in the Asian session tomorrow.</p>