U.S Retail Sales Surprisingly Advance by 0.8%, Producers Price Index Rises by 0.3% - 14.8.2012

U.S Retail Sales rose unexpectedly by 0.8 per cent in July, up from a revised 0.7 per cent decrease in June, according to the Department of Commerce. The Core Retail Sales, which excludes the automobile sector because it tends to be volatile, increased unexpectedly by 0.8 per cent in July, up from a revised 0.8 per cent drop in June. The surprisingly stronger Retail Sales reading is the highest for the last 5 months. Additionally, the Producers Price Index on monthly basis increased by 0.3 per cent in July as expected and higher than 0.1 per cent increase in June according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. PPI excluding Food & Energy prices increased by 0.4 per cent in July, up from a 0.2 per cent increase in June. The US dollar against the Japanese yen strengthened amid better than expected news, the FX pair jumped from 78.63 to 78.78.