WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The dollar is turning in a mixed performance against its major rivals Friday afternoon, but remains little changed overall. Investors were hit with a deluge of economic reports this morning, the results of which proved mixed.
With gasoline prices showing a substantial increase, the Commerce Department released a report on Friday showing a significant jump in retail sales in the U.S. in the month of September. The Commerce Department said retail sales surged up by 1.6 percent in September after edging down by a revised 0.1 percent in August.
Economists had expected retail sales to spike by 1.7 percent compared to the 0.2 percent drop originally reported for the previous month.
Consumer prices in the U.S. increased by slightly less than expected in the month of September, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Friday. The Labor Department said its consumer price index climbed by 0.5 percent in September after rising by 0.4 percent in August. Economists had expected prices to increase by 0.6 percent.
Consumer sentiment in the U.S. has unexpectedly seen a significant increase in the month of October, according to a report released by the University of Michigan on Friday. The report said the consumer sentiment index jumped to 101.1 in October after dipping to 95.1 in September. Economists had expected the index to edge down to 95.0.
Business inventories in the U.S. rose in line with economist estimates in the month of August, the Commerce Department revealed in a report on Friday. The Commerce Department said business inventories climbed by 0.7 percent in August after rising by an upwardly revised 0.3 percent in July.
Economists had expected inventories to increase by 0.7 percent compared to the 0.2 percent uptick originally reported for the previous month.
The dollar dropped to a low of $1.1874 against the Euro Friday morning, but has since bounced back to around $1.1820.
Germany's inflation held steady, as initially estimated, in September, final data from Destatis showed Friday. Consumer prices advanced 1.8 percent year-on-year in September, the same rate as seen in August. The rate also matched the estimate published on September 28.
The buck fell to a low of $1.3334 against the pound sterling Friday morning, but has since rebounded to around $1.3290.
The greenback reached an early high of Y112.260 against the Japanese Yen Friday, but has since retreated to around Y111.850.
The M2 money stock in Japan was up 4.1 percent on year in September, the Bank of Japan said on Friday, coming in at 979.3 trillion yen. That beat forecasts for an increase of 4.0 percent, which would have been unchanged from the August reading.
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