Retail Sales Put the Loonie and Pound in Focus COVID-19 Concerns Linger

Earlier in the Day:

It was a quiet start to the day on the economic calendar on Friday. The Japanese Yen was in action early on.

Inflation figures from Japan had little influence on the broader markets, however, with COVID-19 and U.S stats providing direction early on.

Looking at the latest coronavirus numbers

On Thursday, the number of new coronavirus cases rose by 169,995 to 8,551,856. On Wednesday, the number of new cases had risen by 125,202. The daily increase was higher than Wednesday’s rise and 136,875 new cases from the previous Thursday.

Germany, Italy, and Spain reported 787 new cases on Thursday, which was down from 2,480 new cases on Wednesday. On the previous Thursday, just 1,091 new cases had been reported.

From the U.S, the total number of cases rose by 25,576 to 2,257,604 on Thursday. On Wednesday, the total number of cases had risen by 23,628. On Thursday, 11^th June, a total of 23,403 new cases had been reported.

For the Japanese Yen

Deflationary pressures persisted in May, with core consumer prices falling by 0.2% year-on-year, which was at the same pace as in April. Economists had forecast a 0.1% decline.

According to figures released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication., the annual rate of inflation held steady at 0.1%.

The Japanese Yen moved from ¥107.003 to ¥107.030 upon release of the figures. At the time of writing, the Japanese Yen was up by 0.04% to ¥106.93 against the U.S Dollar.

Elsewhere

At the time of writing, the Aussie Dollar was down by 0.09% to $0.6846, with the Kiwi Dollar down by 0.28% to $0.6411.

The Day Ahead:

For the EUR

It’s another quiet day ahead on the economic calendar. Economic data is limited to Germany’s wholesale inflation figures for May, which are unlikely to have an impact on the EUR.

Following the recent uptick in new COVID-19 cases, weak economic data from the U.S added to the market angst. With Germany also seeing a recent spike in new cases, governments may become cautious in fully reopening.

Such an outcome would be EUR negative.

At the time of writing, the EUR was down by 0.04% to $1.1201.

For the Pound

It’s a busy day ahead on the economic calendar. May retail sales figures are due out of the UK later this morning.

Economists have forecasted a partial recovery from the tumble in April. Anything in line or worse than forecasts would likely weigh on the Pound.

While the numbers will influence, expect Brexit chatter to also provide direction.

At the time of writing, the Pound was down by 0.10% to $1.2412.

Across the Pond

It’s also a quiet day ahead on the U.S economic calendar. Key stats are limited to 1^st quarter current account figures.

We don’t expect any influence from the numbers. That leaves the Dollar in the hands of market risk sentiment and COVID-19 on the day.

Late in the day, FED Chair Powell is speaking once more that could be a test for the bulls. Is there anything left for the FED Chair to add after Monday’s move and mid-week testimony?

At the time of writing, the Dollar Spot Index was up by 0.05% to 97.473.

For the Loonie

It’s a busy day ahead on the economic calendar. April retail sales figures are due out later this afternoon.

While these are April figures, we can expect some influence on the Loonie.

Ultimately, however, market risk sentiment will be the key driver. As the week comes to a close, the U.S administration may look to change the narrative with another fiscal stimulus package.

It would need to be impressive to offset market angst over COVID-19 numbers, however…

At the time of writing, the Loonie was down by 0.10% to C$1.3613 against the U.S Dollar.

For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar.