USD approaches the three-month high after retail sales showed a rebound

The DXY Index was up this morning near 92.922, near its three-week high at 92.965. Currently, it has slid back to 92.823. The upward momentum was mainly brought by the promising US retail sales data. Last night, the US retail sales beat the expectation and increased by 0.7% from last month. Business sentiment also showed some impressive improvement. Increased spending was likely from back-to-school shopping. Governments have also sent out child tax credit payments which further boosted people’s purchasing power. Analysts are expecting that Q3 in comparison will experience a sharp slow-down. On the other hand, EUR hit its three-week low against USD and JPY, and a one-month low against GBP.

Japanese Yen has so far shown limited reaction to the Liberal Democratic Party’s leadership race. The race will kick off today, followed by a vote on September 29th. LDP’s new leader will become the next prime minister.