U.S. Retail Sales Numbers

As the most important piece of U.S. data this week and the only report that could have altered the market’s expectations for tapering, U.S. retail sales successfully united the movements in U.S. assets. The dollar traded higher against all of the major currencies as Treasury yields increased and equities weakened. Even commodity prices were driven lower by the rise in the dollar. All of this price is consistent with increased expectations for Fed tapering and is a breath of fresh air after a long period of divergence. Investors across different asset classes interpreted the U.S. retail sales report in the exact same way, which is that the Fed could realistically taper asset purchases this month.
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