Foreign Exchange Market Update

October 15, 2026

United States

Following yesterday's report on consumer price inflation, the Labor Department released a separate report on Thursday showing increased U.S. producer prices in September. The producer price index for final demand jumped by 1.3% in September after rising by 0.5% in August. The report also said the annual rate of growth in producer prices surged from 5.6% in August to 6.3% in September. The increase in producer prices largely reflected a continued spike in energy prices, which soared by 10.8% in September after surging by 4.5% in August.

The report also showed a notable rebound in food prices, which jumped by 1.2% in September after falling by 0.3% in August. The Labor Department also said prices for services increased by 0.8% in September after rising by 0.2% in August. Prices for transportation and warehousing services shot up by 3.4%, prices for trade services jumped by 1.4%, and prices for other services rose by 0.3%. Core producer prices, which exclude prices for food, energy, and trade services, climbed by 0.5% in September following a 0.3% increase in August. The annual rate of growth in core producer prices accelerated from 4.8% in August to 5.0% in September. 10/15/2026 - 09:51:00 (RTTNews)

A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits edged slightly higher in the week ending on October 10th. The Labor Department said initial jobless claims ticked up to 199,000, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week's level of 198,000. Over the past several weeks, jobless claims have been nearly unchanged, hovering modestly above the multi-decade low of 189,000 in the week ending on July 18th.

The report said the less volatile four-week moving average also inched up to 198,500, an increase of 250 from the previous week's average of 198,250. Meanwhile, the Labor Department said continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, dipped by 4,000 to 1.710 million in the week ending on October 3rd. The four-week moving average of continuing claims also slipped to 1,708,750, down 1,750 from the previous week's average of 1,710,500. 10/15/2026 - 09:38:00 (RTTNews)

The Commerce Department released a report on Thursday showing retail sales in the U.S. increased in September. The report said retail sales climbed by 0.8% in September after surging by 1.3% in August. Excluding an uptick in sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales still grew by 0.9% in September after increasing by 1.4% in August. The retail sales growth partly reflected a continued surge in sales of gas stations, which soared by 6.4% in September after spiking by 4.0% in August amid higher gasoline prices.

The report said retail sales excluding gas stations rose by 0.2% in September after jumping by 1.0% in August. Sales at department stores, furniture and home furnishings stores, and food services and drinking places grew notably, while sales at miscellaneous retailers fell sharply. The Commerce Department also said core retail sales, which exclude automobiles, gasoline, building materials, and food services, crept up by 0.1% in September after surging by 1.2% in August. 10/15/2026 - 10:09:00 (RTTNews)

New York manufacturing activity rose sharply in October, according to a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Thursday. The New York Fed said its general business conditions index surged from 7.6 in September to 25.5 in October, with the positive reading indicating growth. With the increase, the index reached its highest level since hitting 34.4 in December 2021. The surge in the headline index came as the new orders index spiked from 2.0 in September to 25.3 in October, and the shipments index jumped from a negative 3.2 in September to a positive 13.1 in October.

Meanwhile, the number of employees index edged down from 10.6 in September to 10.3 in October, but the positive reading still suggests ongoing modest growth in employment. The report also said the prices paid index fell from 63.1 in September to 59.5 in October, while the prices received index rose from 28.1 in September to 30.6 in October. 10/15/2026 - 10:45:00 (RTTNews)

Eurozone Industrial Output Drops for Third Month

Euro traded at 1.1208 against USD at 9:00 AM PST

The euro area industrial production declined for the third straight month in August, suggesting that harsh weather and rising energy prices weighed on industrial activity. Industrial output dropped by 0.5% monthly in August, which was bigger than the 0.3% fall posted in July. Moreover, this was the third consecutive decrease. Year-on-year, industrial output logged a decline of 1.1% after easing 0.3% in July.

Non-durable consumer goods, intermediate goods, and energy contributed negatively to overall production. Production of non-durable consumer goods and intermediate goods fell 2.7% and 0.8%, respectively. Energy output was down 0.6%. Partially offsetting these falls, capital goods and durable consumer goods output rose 0.4% and 0.2%. In the EU, industrial production fell 0.3% from July and dropped 0.2% from last year. The largest monthly decreases were recorded in Belgium, Ireland, and Portugal, while the highest increases were observed in Sweden, Estonia, and the Netherlands. 10/15/2026 - 06:50:00 (RTTNews)

United Kingdom Economy Logs Growth

British Pound traded at 1.3255 against USD at 9:00 AM PST

The United Kingdom economy expanded marginally in August, as growth in industrial production offset the fall in construction. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.1% in August from last month but was weaker than the 0.4% growth seen in July. Economic growth was underpinned by industrial production, as services output registered no growth and construction shrank 0.2%. Industrial production climbed at a faster pace of 0.8% monthly, after rising 0.3% in July. The increase in manufacturing output rose from 1.0% to 1.2%. Year-on-year, industrial production growth doubled from 0.8% in July to 1.6%.

At the same time, manufacturing output rose 3.0% after rising by 2.2%. Compared with the same month a year ago, GDP increased by 2.1% in August, marking the strongest expansion in four years. In the three months to August, real GDP grew 0.7%, following growth of 0.5% in the three months to July. The visible trade deficit narrowed to GBP 18.0 billion from GBP 19.3 billion in July as imports declined 2.4%. Exports of goods dropped only 0.1%. The overall trade gap, including goods and services, fell from GBP 2.3 billion in July to GBP 920 million. 10/15/2026 - 07:02:00 (RTTNews)