Good morning!
The US dollar's rising after several strong data points crossed this morning.
The dollar index is up 0.6% to 94.68 as of 10:01 a.m. ET.
This follows news that retail sales trounced expectations, rising 1.3% in April, and that consumer confidence rose more than expected.
As for the rest of the world, here's the scoreboard:
- The euro is down 0.8% to 1.1289 after Eurozone GDP missed. The region's economy grew 0.5% in the first quarter, missing economists' expectations of 0.6% growth. Notably, Germany's GDP grew by 0.7% in the same time frame, above expectations of 0.6% growth.
- The South Korean won ended the day weaker by 0.8% at 1171.41 per dollar after the Bank of Korea held its key interest rate at 1.50%, as expected. The BoK noted that exports continue to slow and that employment growth also appears to be slowing. Looking ahead, the central bank forecasts "consumer price inflation will continue at a low level, under the influence of the low oil prices for example."
- The Japanese yen is weaker by 0.4% at 109.44 per dollar, although it was one of the biggest losers among major currencies this week. And, once again, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda noted there's still room to ease policy further.
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