💲 USD gains as retail sales data smashes expectations
EURUSD dropped below 1.2040 handle following release of stellar US data. Retail sales data for January increased a massive 5.3% MoM, easily beating market consensus of 1.1% MoM advance. Retail sales excluding autos increased 5.9% MoM! While the increase should not come as a surprise as Americans started to receive the second round of $600 stimulus checks, the scale of beat is impressive. Spare for May 2020 data that was disrupted by a big pandemic drop in April, today's data showed the biggest monthly increase in headline retail sales since October 2001. Reaction on stock markets and precious metals was quite muted but big moves occurred on FX and bond markets.
EURUSD has been moving lower throughout the day but downward move accelerated following release of a blockbuster US retail sales report. The pair smashed support zone ranging between 23.6% retracement (1.2040) and 1.2060 handle. EURUSD is testing the 1.2030 area at press time. Source: xStation5
