US: UoM Consumer Confidence Index improves to 66.4 in February vs. 65 expected

UoM Consumer Confidence Index rose more than expected in February's flash estimate.
US Dollar Index clings to daily gains near 103.50.

Eren Sengezer FXStreet

Consumer sentiment in the US improved in early February with the University of Michigan's (UoM) Consumer Confidence Index rising to 66.4 from 64.9 in January. This reading came in better than the market expectation of 65.

"Year-ahead inflation expectations rebounded to 4.2% this month, from 3.9% in January and 4.4% in December," the UoM noted in its publication. "Long-run inflation expectations remained at 2.9% for the third straight month and stayed within the narrow 2.9-3.1% range for 18 of the last 19 months."

Market reaction

The US Dollar preserves its strength after this report and the US Dollar Index was last seen rising 0.28% on the day at 103.48.

Author

Eren Sengezer

FXStreet

As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.

EUR/USD remains offered below 1.1800, looks at US data

EUR/USD is still trading on the defensive in the latter part of Thursday’s session, while the US Dollar maintains its bid bias as investors now gear up for Friday’s key release of the PCE data, advanced Q4 GDP prints and flash PMIs.

GBP/USD bounces off monthly lows near 1.3430

GBP/USD is sliding in tandem with its risk-sensitive peers, drifting back towards the 1.3430 area, its lowest levels in the month. The move reflects a firmer Greenback, supported by another round of solid US data and a somewhat divided FOMC Minutes.

Gold surrenders some gains, back below $5,000

Gold is giving away part of its earlier gains on Thursday, receding to the sub-$5,000 region per troy ounce. The precious metal is finding support from renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and declining US Treasury yields across the curve in a context of further advance in the Greenback.

XRP edges lower as SG-FORGE integrates EUR stablecoin on XRP Ledger

Ripple’s (XRP) outlook remains weak, as headwinds spark declines toward the $1.40 psychological support at the time of writing on Thursday.

Hawkish Fed minutes and a market finding its footing

It was green across the board for US Stock market indexes at the close on Wednesday, with most S&P 500 names ending higher, adding 38 points (0.6%) to 6,881 overall. At the GICS sector level, energy led gains, followed by technology and consumer discretionary, while utilities and real estate posted the largest losses.

Injective token surges over 13% following the approval of the mainnet upgrade proposal

Injective price rallies over 13% on Thursday after the network confirmed the approval of its IIP-619 proposal. The green light for the mainnet upgrade has boosted traders’ sentiment, as the upgrade aims to scale Injective’s real-time Ethereum Virtual Machine architecture and enhance its capabilities to support next-generation payments.