Foreign Exchange Market Update

April 21, 2026

United States Retail Sales Jump 1.7% in March

The Commerce Department released a report on Tuesday showing retail sales in the U.S. surged in March. The report said retail sales shot up by 1.7% in March after climbing 0.7% in February. Excluding sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales surged by 1.9% in March after growing by 0.7% in February. The retail sales growth partly reflected a sharp increase in sales by gas stations due to higher gasoline prices.

The Commerce Department said sales of gas stations skyrocketed by 15.5% in March after jumping by 1.3% in February. Sales in department stores also spiked by 4.2% during the month, while sales of furniture and home furnishings stores shot up by 2.2%. Core retail sales, which exclude automobiles, gasoline, building materials, and food services, increased by 0.7% in March after climbing by 0.6% in February. 04/21/2026 - 09:54:00 (RTTNews)

Eurozone

Euro traded at 1.1744 against USD at 9:00 AM PST

Germany's economic confidence had a sharp decline in April to the lowest level in more than three years amid the consequences of the Middle East war. The investor sentiment index worsened to -17.2 from -0.5 in March. The score hit its lowest since December 2022. Due to the impact of the war in Iran, the German economy experienced inflationary pressures.

The outlook for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, as well as for steel and metal production, deteriorated strongly. The assessment regarding the current satiation also weakened, with the corresponding index falling to -73.7 in April from -62.9 in the prior month.  The expectations index for the Eurozone fell to -20.4 in April from -8.5 in March. The current situation also deteriorated by 13.1 points and stood at -43.0. 04/21/2026 - 06:39:00 (RTTNews)

Spain's foreign trade deficit decreased somewhat in February from a year ago, as imports fell faster than exports. The trade deficit dropped to EUR 3.3 billion in February from EUR 3.4 billion in the corresponding month last year. In January, there was a shortfall of EUR 4.0 billion.

Exports logged an annual fall of 0.8%, and imports were 1.1% lower. Shipments of energy products alone fell 21.8% from last year, while the country imported 11.7% less chemicals during February. On a monthly basis, both exports and imports climbed by 9.7% and 6.3%. 04/21/2026 - 04:49:00 (RTTNews)

United Kingdom Unemployment Rate Falls to 4.9%, Wage Growth Eases

British Pound traded at 1.3504 against USD at 9:00 AM PST

The United Kingdom unemployment rate dropped, and wage growth eased in the three months to February. The jobless rate stood at 4.9% in the December to February period, down from 5.2% in the previous three-month period. Moreover, this was the lowest rate since the three months ending in August 2025, when it was 4.8%.

The employment rate dropped marginally to 75.0% from 75.1% in the November to January period. The annual growth in employees' average earnings, excluding bonuses, eased to 3.8% from 4.1%. Including bonuses, the yearly growth also softened to 3.6% from 3.8%. The U.K. claimant count for March increased monthly but decreased on the year to an estimated 1.694 million. 04/21/2026 - 03:01:00 (RTTNews)

Taiwan Export Orders Jump 65.9% in March

Taiwan's export orders grew at the quickest pace in over sixteen years in March amid strong AI demand. Export orders surged 65.9% year over year in March, much faster than the 23.8% rise in February.

Orders for information and communication products grew 120.9% from last year, primarily driven by strong demand for artificial intelligence and cloud computing services. Demand for electronic products climbed by 73.7%, and those for mineral products rose 28.4%, while those for transport equipment declined by 17.1%.

Monthly, export orders rebounded sharply to 42.7% in March, following a 16.9% decline in February. 04/21/2026 - 08:35:00 (RTTNews)