Dollar Rises Against Major Counterparts

(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar recovered from early losses on Tuesday after data showed a jump in retail sales in the month of April.

Data released by the Commerce Department showed U.S. retail sales increased 0.4% in April, after seeing a revised 0.7% drop in March. Economists had expected retail sales to climb by 0.7% compared to the 1% slump originally reported for the previous month.

A separate report from the Federal Reserve showed industrial production climbed by 0.5% in April, while revised data showed production was unchanged in each of the two previous months.

Economists had expected industrial production to come in unchanged compared to the 0.4% increase originally reported for the previous month.

Ongoing concerns about the U.S. debt ceiling also generated some negative sentiment as President Joe Biden meets with top congressional leaders.

While Biden has called for a "clean" bill to raise the debt ceiling, Republicans are pushing for spending cuts as well as increased work requirements for social safety net programs.

The dollar index, which dropped to 102.20 in the Asian session, climbed to 102.69 later in the day, gaining about 0.25%. The index was last seen at 102.62.

Against the Euro, the dollar firmed to 1.0861 after having weakened to 1.0906.

The dollar is up against at Pound Sterling at 1.2482, firming from 1.2530. Against the Japanese currency, the dollar is gaining at 136.38 yen, rising about 0.2%.

The dollar is stronger against the Aussie at 0.6657, and is down slightly against Swiss franc at CHF0.8965.

The dollar is up marginally against the loonie at C$1.3477. Data from Statistics Canada showed the annual inflation rate in Canada rose to 4.4% in April of 2023 from the 19-month low of 4.3% in the previous month, well above the expected increase of 4.1%. The hotter-than-expected inflation data has raised fears the Canadian central bank will tighten its policy stance.

Core consumer prices in Canada increased 4.1% in April over the same month in the previous year.