Treasury - Daily Forex for day 18.05.2004

...prices rose 0.2%, less than market predictions for a 0.3% gain, while the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index came in at 94.2 in May, below expectations of 96.5. On Monday, U.S. Treasury issued a report showing net capital inflows into the U.S. amounted to $78.6 billion in March, down from February's revised $83.3 billion. However, the dollar shrugged off this news.

Shadowing strengthening currencies of other central European economies, the crown firmed to a new five-month high of 31.80 to the euro on Monday. March retail trade and Q1 service sales data released this morning had little impact on the market. Retail sales rose 3.1% y-o-y in March, lagging behind forecasts for a 4.0% increase. On the positive side, service sales jumped 5.6% y-o-y in the first quarter, up from a 5.0% rise in the final quarter of 2003.