iFOREX Daily Analysis : October 13,2017

 | Oct 13, 2017 06:33AM ET

The dollar trades lower on Friday, awaiting for the U.S. inflation data for a potential boost following this week's fall from 10-week highs. The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. currency against six other major currencies is almost 1% lower for the week. A major drag in the dollar was the Fed's September meeting minutes which showed that while policymakers are open to raising interest rates in December, they were still concerned about inflation.

On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor said its producer price index for final demand increased 0.4 percent on-month and 2.6 percent on-year in September, the biggest annual gain since February 2012.

The number of individuals filing for jobless benefits in the last week declined by 15,000 to 243,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 258,000, the U.S. Department of Labor said. Analysts expected a drop by 7,000 to 251,000 last week.

The main U.S. indices traded slightly lower following the data due to limited risk appetite in the markets, while in the commodities markets, gold was strongly supported by safe haven demand while crude oil prices settled lower after the International Agency Energy suggested that global demand for oil could come under pressure next year.

Bitcoin prices rose on Thursday as reports that China could reserve its ban on domestic bitcoin exchanges pushed the digital currency above $5,000 for the first time in its nine-year history.

For today, the U.S. is to release data on inflation and retail sales, as well as preliminary data on consumer sentiment.

EUR/USD

Despite the positive data on rising producer prices on Thursday, the dollar continues to lose ground against the euro, as concerns of a weakness in inflation still add pressure on the dollar and raise questions on whether a third rate hike is appropriate this year.

Several policymakers believe additional tightening of monetary policy will depend on upcoming inflation data and that is why today’s report on inflation is key.

Later in the day, additional data from the U.S. is expected, including retail sales as well as preliminary data on consumer sentiment.