Foreign Exchange Market Update

January 17, 2025

United States (U.S.): Industrial Production Jumps Much More Than Expected in December

Industrial production in the U.S. increased by much more than expected in December, according to a report released by the Federal Reserve. The Fed said industrial production jumped by 0.9% in December after rising by a revised 0.2% in November. Economists had expected industrial production to climb by 0.3% compared to the 0.1% dip originally reported for the previous month. The much bigger increase in industrial production came as utilities and mining output surged by 2.1% and 1.8%, respectively, while manufacturing output climbed by 0.6%. 01/17/2025 - 09:22:00 (RTTNews)

United Kingdom (U.K.): Retail Sales Drop Unexpectedly on Weak Food Store Sales

British Pound traded at 1.2186 against USD at 9:00AM PST.

U.K. retail sales declined unexpectedly in December despite the festive season as food sales logged their worst performance since 2013, data from the Office for National Statistics showed. Retail sales volume decreased 0.3% monthly in December, in contrast to the revised 0.1% gain in November. The decline confounded expectations for an increase of 0.4%. Sales declines in supermarkets were partly offset by a rise in non-food stores, such as clothing retailers, where sales rebounded from falls in recent months, data showed. Food store sales showed a monthly fall of 1.9%, taking the index levels to their lowest since April 2013. 

Meanwhile, non-food store sales grew 1.1% and automotive fuel sales advanced 1.6%. Excluding auto fuel, retail sales declined 0.6% after a 0.1% gain in November. Sales were forecast to climb 0.1%. Yearly, retail sales grew 3.6% after remaining flat in November. However, growth was weaker than the forecast for a 4.2% gain. Excluding auto fuel, retail sales volume posted 2.9% growth in contrast to the 0.5% decrease a month ago. Economists had forecast an annual growth of 3.6%. Online spending registered its first monthly rise since September, up 1.5% in December. The sales value rose 1.7% annually. Overall sales volume decreased by 0.8% in the fourth quarter from a quarter ago but rose by 1.9% from the same period last year. 01/17/2025 - 07:58:00 (RTTNews)

European Union (E.U.): Eurozone Current Account Surplus At 3-Month Low

Euro traded at 1.0295 against USD at 9:00AM PST.

The euro area current account surplus fell to a three-month low in November, the European Central Bank said. The current account surplus decreased to EUR 27 billion from EUR 30 billion in October. This was the lowest since August when the surplus was EUR 23.5 billion. The surplus on goods trade increased to EUR 35 billion from EUR 32 billion. Meanwhile, the surplus on services trade decreased to EUR 12 billion from EUR 16 billion. Primary income posted a shortfall of EUR 6 billion, bigger than the EUR 2 billion deficit last month. The deficit in secondary income narrowed to EUR 14 billion from EUR 15 billion. In the twelve months to November, the current account surplus totaled EUR 412 billion or 2.7% of GDP, up from EUR 225 billion or 1.5% in the same period last year. In the financial account, euro area residents' net acquisitions of non-euro area portfolio investment securities were EUR 620 billion and non-residents' net acquisitions of euro area portfolio investment securities came in at EUR 852 billion in the twelve months to November. 01/17/2025 - 06:53:00 (RTTNews)